Life's Blessing
by Magicia
Summary: Ben isn't truly human, he knows that much. Now he's about to find out exactly what that truth really means. He and everyone else are in for one heck of a ride. Rating for safety.
1. Life's touch

1. Life's touch.

Fifteen year old Benjamin Tennyson was at the end of his rope. Gwen and Kevin were arguing at the top of their lungs. Julie was standing between them with her arms outstretched, shouting just as loudly in an attempt to placate them. Ship was jumping up at each of them, making his peculiar beep/barking sound at a high pitch in an attempt to gain attention. Ben's mother Sandra stuck her head in the room to see what was causing the commotion and promptly withdrew it as the shouting reached a new level. Gwen flung her red hair over her shoulder.

"Be honest for once! Why won't you ask me out?!" Kevin snorted and crossed his arms.

"I've already told you! I don't like being pushed!" he frowned. "Besides it should be ME nagging YOU to go out with me!" This only provoked more noise from Gwen and Julie. Ben rubbed his forehead and glanced at his father Carl out of the corner of his eye. How the man could sit on the couch and continue to read the paper like nothing was happening was beyond him. He did start raising an eyebrow when some creative insults began to mix in with the shouting however. Ben threw up his hands when the doorbell rang.

"What next? A DNAlien attack?" He strode away from the argument and wrenched the door open. If he didn't know exactly who and what the creature standing on the porch was, he would have used the Omnitrix to transform and make it back off. Since he was in the know, he just opened the door wider and stepped to the side. "Hi Grandma Verdona. Come on in. The Anodyte floated through the door space and paused as she started to pass him, one eye slightly wider than the other. Then she turned and gave him what he could only assume was an appraising look.

"You seem stronger since I saw you last month. Been working out? Or maybe you're just a late bloomer." Ben shook his head.

"Don't think so. No energy powers. That's Gwen's thing." Verdona merely shook her head, sending her electric pink hair swaying.

"There's still something different about you. Something that wasn't there a month ago." She drew back and frowned. "I'll just have to test you before I leave. Who knows? I learned my lesson about taking things at face value with Gwen." Her body shimmered and Verdona's anodyte form was abruptly replaced by the human disguise she had used when they had first met her. When she and Ben reached the living room, she raised her hands and covered her ears. "What's all that about?" Ben was sure his face was twitching noticeably.

"They've been arguing about why Kevin won't ask Gwen out. It started out quiet, but it's been going on for almost an hour now. I'm ready to go insane." Verdona's mouth tilted up into a smirk.

"My, sounds like it's quite an issue." Ben snorted.

"Only to her. The rest of us could do without the shouting." When Gwen and Kevin stopped suddenly and drew a deep breath to continue, Ben seized his chance. He shouted as loud as he possibly could, "ENOUGH!" Verdona jumped like she'd been shot. Ben heard a plate smash in the kitchen. Carl jolted so badly he tore his newspaper in two. "What is this, a madhouse?!" Everyone turned to stare at him. Gwen flicked her hair back again.

"Grandma! Stay out of it Ben." She turned back to Kevin and opened her mouth. She shut it when a pillow hit her in the back of the head and made her stumble slightly. Kevin whirled to glare at Ben, who crossed his arms and glared right back.

"Don't give me that look. She's my cousin, I'm entitled." He aimed his glare at Gwen. "For the love of god Gwen, drop it!" He flung an arm out, accidentally hitting a vase full of wilted roses that his dad had given his mom last month on their anniversary, knocking it to the edge of the table. Rubbing away the strange tingling sensation it caused in his hands, he continued. "Stop nagging him. It's annoying for all of us to hear and it makes it sound like you're desperate to suck face." By now Julie was biting her fist in attempt to keep from laughing at Gwen and Kevin's expressions. Ben ignored her.

"Kevin either give an actual reason, or just don't respond." He turned and said over his shoulder, "You two have given me the mother of all headaches, so I'm going out for a while. I really don't want to be hearing the same argument when I come back. It's gone on way too long." He vanished into the hall and a few seconds later the front door slammed hard enough to make the house shake.

The vase of roses wobbled and fell off the table. It would have shattered if Verdona hadn't teleported to it and caught it. She flicked a hand over her shoulder. Carl's torn newspaper mended itself and a gasp from the kitchen told them that the plate Sandra had dropped had done the same. Verdona simply continued to stare at the vase, her back to them. Carl sighed and folded his paper.

"OK. I get the point mom. I know I should have thrown those out weeks ago. I just never got around to it." Verdona shook her head.

"Ben." It was all she said and all she needed to say. Kevin sighed.

"He's been off like that since he turned into a new alien a few days ago. Something he calls Alien X." Verdona snickered.

"That explains a lot." At Gwen's snort she said, "Really it does. Alien X is as old as the universe, and one of the most powerful beings in existence." She smiled slightly even though she knew they wouldn't see it. "Trouble is, it usually doesn't do anything." Gwen coughed.

"Yeah we noticed that." Verdona shook her head again.

"That's not what I mean. I learned about Alien X on Anodyne. It has two sides that control it, and they are complete opposites. Alien X won't so much as move unless they agree with each other. Since they argue about everything that's almost impossible. It's only acted three times in my lifetime as far as I know." Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"So Ben was stuck with a fighting couple when he transformed? I guess that does explain a lot" Carl frowned.

"You kids made it sound like he couldn't change back." After Verdona had first visited them, Ben had decided to broach the subject of her and his alien fighting to his parents. He had figured they wouldn't freak since one of their parents was an alien. He was right of course. About the only thing that had changed was that his curfew was null if alien attacks were involved. Kevin shrugged.

"Far as we could tell, he couldn't. He just…stood there." He shuddered slightly. "I don't scare easy, but that thing, it's scary." Gwen nodded.

"Like the night sky had taken shape. I thought I was looking into space." Verdona nodded.

"Essentially you were. It's what Alien X's body is formed from, the very fabric of space." Kevin shivered.

"Then just as Earth's about to get blasted, he changes into Swampfire. I don't know what happened and he wouldn't say. He just said that turning into it wasn't worth the price. He made it sound like he'd never change into it again." Gwen shook her head.

"I don't know about that. He said yesterday he wanted to work things out with it…them. Maybe he left to do that." Verdona finally turned around.

"Why don't we find out?" She paused and reached behind her. "Carl, there's no need to throw out perfectly healthy roses." She tossed a vibrant red rose onto his newspaper. Carl just rolled his eyes. Verdona held up her hands. She waved one. A bolt of pinkish energy lanced out and swirled into a large ring in the center of the room. The center of the ring crackled and suddenly they could all see Ben striding down the street twisting the dial of the Omnitrix. Sandra walked in as Ben slipped off into the park and behind a tree where no one else would see him. Verdona flicked her hand and they suddenly had sound to go along with the picture. Verdona plunked down on the sofa next to Carl.

"Like I told him, something's different about him." They watched as Ben flopped gracelessly down underneath the tree.

He twisted the dial of the Omnitrix until the projection of Alien X popped up. Feeling slightly silly, he leaned over and said, "Um Serena? Belicus? Can you guys hear me?" To his astonishment, the green hologram actually nodded. "Okay then." He frowned for a moment, thinking. "I think we started off on the wrong foot. So if you'll let me, I've got some new business." The hologram nodded again. Ben drew a deep breath. "To facilitate the resolution of old business, and to help with the process of new business, I move that Serena and Belicus be able to communicate with me whenever and wherever I am if I am not in the form of Alien X."

The response was immediate. "Seconded!" The voice was undeniably Serena's, though somewhat tinny, as if the Omnitrix's hidden speaker was too great a distance from them. Belicus voice was next.

"Spatial-temporal communication movement carried!" The hologram raised a hand and moved it in a circle before disappearing. Almost instantly, Ben's vision was filled with green. An instant later it flickered into an image of Belicus about the size of his head. Ben realized he must have appeared at full size. A few seconds later Serena's head appeared, though without having to shrink.

"Good vote!" They said in unison. Serena shifted so that her mask-like face was pointed directly at Ben.

"Thank you for giving us another chance Ben. We're sorry about before. We were just so excited." Ben rubbed the back of neck, looking sheepish.

"Yeah well, I said a few things I probably shouldn't have." He would have said more, but Belicus cut in looking exasperated and faintly nauseous.

"Oh cut the mush! We're sorry! End of story!" He rotated to shoot a glance at Serena, apparently daring her to say anything. When she remained silent, he turned back to Ben. "You said you'd help with old business?" Ben nodded.

"On a few conditions, yes." Serena gave him a look that he could only describe as curious.

"What kind of conditions?" Ben drew in a deep breath.

"One, you don't trap me anymore. Two, if the situation is bad enough, we forget about procedure until the crisis is over. Three, for every item of old business solved, I get to bring up one item of new business. Fair enough?" Serena and Belicus looked at each other for a moment before turning to Ben.

"Motion carried!" They said together. Ben could have sworn the air flickered. Belicus dropped a little lower.

"Pick a topic of old business and we'll get started." Ben grinned.

"Let's start with tabled motion eighty million and three, saving the dinosaurs from extinction." Back in the living room, everyone's eyebrows shot up. Belicus rose a little higher.

"Excellent. I'll make my case first." He cleared his non-existent throat. "The dinosaurs were a race that destroyed the planet with no care whatsoever for what they did. Their extinction provided the earth with some much needed recovery time. Reviving them would pave the way for an early destruction of the planet." He fell silent. Serena floated up.

"The dinosaurs were just simple animals Belicus. They never had the time to reach the understanding that they were decimating the planet. If they were allowed to live, they could reach that understanding and change their habits for the betterment of the planet." Ben spoke up.

"Could doesn't mean they will Serena. And even if they did, there's a good chance that I won't even exist. They're such an ingrained part of history that reviving them could and probably would destroy trillions of lives that made a difference throughout time. We might not even begin to have this discussion. Can you really let that stay on your conscience? I'm pretty sure you'll remember everything if you change history." Serena shook her head, looking sad. "Therefore, I move that we don't save the dinosaurs from extinction." Belicus smiled.

"Seconded!" Serena sighed.

"Motion carried." She sounded somewhat glum. Then she perked up. "You get to put out some new business now. What'll it be?" Ben grinned.

"I move that planet Pluto be restored to the way it was before the incursions destroyed it." Belicus snorted.

"Pluto was a dwarf planet, not a planet." Serena turned to him.

"That's a moot point since it's destroyed. You're just being nit picky." Belicus grunted.

"I am not." Serena smiled.

"Now you're just being contrary." Belicus grunted again.

"Says you." Ben sat back as Serena moved a little closer to Belicus. He sighed.

"And it begins. I wonder how long this'll last." He watched the two faces bicker back and forth for a moment.

"On the bright side, they'll do wonders for your patience if you do this often enough." Ben whipped around to find a figure in a toga-like gray robe floating in the air less than six feet away from him. A large hood prevented him from seeing the face, but the voice was undeniably male. The figure floated a little closer. Ben saw that he was holding a sphere the color of a ruby the size of a softball. His hands had a curious bluish pattern of wide wavy lines running across them. The figure raised his hands when Ben reached for the Omnitrix.

"Easy now. I'm hardly here to threaten you. There's no need to transform Benjamin." The hooded person gestured to the faces of Serena and Belicus, who had stopped arguing the instant they noticed him. "They're more than enough to deter me from that." Ben slowly took his hand away from the Omnitrix.

"How do you know my name?" The figure laughed.

"I've known about you ever since you were born. It's been a long time since there's been another one like me." Ben shook his head.

"I don't have any anodyte powers." The floating person snorted.

"Did I say you were an anodyte?" He snickered and suddenly vanished. Ben jumped when he appeared right next to him. "We're a little more special than that." He floated away a few feet and held up the sphere. It gave off a burst of light rather like a camera flash. He grunted as Ben blinked to clear his vision. "That's rather strong. I suppose there's some of it on both sides. Even though most of it is through your mother's side." The figure's hood slipped back to reveal a pale mouth as he shook his head. "I should have come years ago." The lips quirked up in a smile. "By these readings, you've been ready since you were five." Ben narrowed his eyes.

"Ready for what?" The man frowned.

"Ready to receive this." He gestured with his free hand. A large box appeared in his hand. It looked ordinary enough, a simple white box with a green ribbon topping it. He tossed to Ben. "You'll have to wait until your birthday I'm afraid. It won't be possible to open it until then." He smiled. "I'll see you again after you've opened it. Hard to say when though." His smile broadened. "At least you won't have to wait long. Tomorrow is your birthday after all. Catch you later!" He raised the sphere before pausing. "By the way, you DO have anodyte powers. I can feel them. They're just waiting for the right trigger." Ben opened his mouth to speak, but he thrust the sphere into the air and vanished in a flash of red and white light.

"What do you mean the right trigger?!" No answer came. He sighed and flopped down. "Who was that anyway? How did he know so much about me?" Serena frowned slightly.

"I've never seen him before Ben." She squinted at the box. "At least whatever is inside of there isn't dangerous to you. I can 't sense anything hostile." Belicus nodded.

"I didn't sense anything dangerous from him. Though I've never seen him before either." Ben frowned.

"Who or what was he?" Belicus and Serena looked at each other before looking at Ben. They looked rather ashamed.

"We have no idea." They said together. Ben sighed. If Belicus and Serena had no idea what the man was, then no one would. He drew in a breath.

"Okay fine. Let's forget about him for now. Can we get back to the topic of Pluto?" They both nodded. Belicus expression didn't change, but Ben had the distinct impression he was trying not to smile.

"I suppose you have a good reason for wanting to restore a dwarf planet?" Ben started to nod and stopped abruptly.

"Sort of. I mean, the only reason it was destroyed was to make an example to Earth. And Earth doesn't even know it happened! It died for no reason whatsoever! Where's the point in that? At least it would have had an effect if anyone on Earth knew about it. And besides, humans aren't going to stay on Earth forever. We may need it someday." He paused and then grinned. "I move that we restore Pluto to the way it was before it was blown up." Serena smiled.

"Seconded!" Belicus nodded.

"Motion carried!" He turned to face Ben completely. "You'll have to transform into Alien X to carry this one out. It involves more than just communication. Ben narrowed his eyes.

"Only if you let me change back." Serena and Belicus nodded.

"We won't keep you trapped like that again." They said together. Ben nodded and twisted the Omnitrix until the figure of Alien X appeared. He slapped his hand down of the dial after it popped up. A flash of green light lit up the area briefly. It died down to reveal the star filled form of Alien X.

"Planet Pluto restoration movement carried!" It said in the peculiar conglomeration of Ben, Belicus, and Serena's voices. Alien X's palm moved in a circular motion, creating a ring of shifting light. The ring shot up into the sky. A small window appeared in front of the standing creature. They all watched as the ring traveled through space at an impossible speed, zooming by whole planets so quickly that they were little more than a blur. It stopped in an area of space that had a few chunks of debris floating around. The ring pulsed and the debris started to fly towards it. The ring burst into a nova of light as the last of debris reached it. When the light faded, it revealed Pluto, once again whole and unharmed. The planet shimmered and suddenly teleported to a slightly different position. Alien X changed back into Ben as the window faded. Serena and Belicus's faces reappeared. Ben frowned.

"Why'd it teleport?" Belicus grunted.

"Had to fix the orbits." He squinted at Ben. "Unless you want to risk a planetary collision. We can always change back all the planet's orbits." Ben held up his hands.

"No, no! It's fine." He looked at Serena. "Do you have any old business you want to bring up?" She frowned, thinking.

"Well, there's…no. Maybe… not now." This went on for several minutes before Belicus let out a bark of laughter.

"Shouldn't have done that." He told Ben. "She's hopeless at decisions like those." Ben grinned.

"Spur of the moment type?" Belicus nodded. "I guess that makes sense." Serena finally stopped muttering and sighed.

"I need some time to think about it. Ask me later." Her mask like face spun around suddenly. "What in heaven's name is that?" Ben peeked around her to see a DNAlien. This one wasn't fully mutated however. Ben could see a human eye and one of the ears was still visible. The captured human stumbled forward, walking with a shuffling gait rather like a zombie. The Xenocyte's one eye was gazing at him with a mixture of malevolence and something he couldn't identify. The human eye however, had a look of desperation and outright fear in it. Ben jumped when Serena's face suddenly grew to its actual size. She floated forward and started glowing, giving off an odd nimbus of green light. The instant the captured human was touched by the light, it froze. The Xenocyte however, started to struggle. Serena smiled.

"Little brute can't stand compassion eh? Ben, there's still time to save whoever it caught!" Ben nodded and strode forward. The Omnitrix started beeping as soon as it got close enough.

"Genetic abnormality detected. DNA splicing error. Should we attempt to repair?" Ben nodded.

"Yes." An instant later he found himself flying inside the Omnitrix. A huge image of the trapped human blossomed in front of him. Ben noted that it was still glowing with light from Serena. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out towards the Xenocyte. "OK. It's just like when I fixed Ken." He tried not to scream as tentacles from the Xenocyte engulfed him and blackness filled his vision. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes to find a lifeless and rather withered looking Xenocyte in his palm and the oddest looking human he had ever seen lying on the ground.

She was slightly shorter than him, wearing a long black dress with voluminous sleeves that were pointed at the end and trimmed with a lace like pattern. He did a double take as he realized that no feet of any kind were visible. The only thing he could see were small black streamers of fabric at slightly irregular intervals that ran the length of the hem. She groaned and sat up, long black hair swinging over one shoulder. A second later, she rose into the air and started hovering, the streamers barely touching the ground. She brushed herself off and rotated in place, looking around. She stopped dead when she saw Ben.

"It's been too long since I've seen another kindred spirit of rarity. You have my thanks for freeing me from that vile creature." Ben frowned.

"Uh…you're welcome. Kindred spirit of rarity?" The creature squinted at him.

"You mean you haven't found out yet?" She sighed. "I can't believe no one told you." Ben threw up his hands.

"OK, enough's enough! First the guy in the robe, now you! What do you know that I don't?!" The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Guy in the robe?" Understanding suddenly blossomed on her face, and she started laughing. "I think I know who you mean. Did he have a red ball about yea big?" Ben nodded. The woman's laughed harder before it degenerated into a somewhat controlled giggle. "Always goes for the mysterious angle, he does. I would have just told you outright. But I guess I have to play along since he got to you first." She held up a hand when Ben opened his mouth to speak. "That is, I'll play along to a point. You deserve to know at least part of what's going on." Ben nodded.

"Thanks." The woman flung her head in a wide arc. Her hair swung upwards and settled into a neat pile except for two long streamers that framed either side of her face. Ben blinked when he saw that her ears were actually pointed like an elf's. She smiled. Ben noticed what looked like a white band sitting on the top of her head, reminiscent of a maid's cap except for the fact that it was spiked straight up instead of ruffled.

"That's much better. Anyway, it's far too open to be bandying information like this about." She frowned. "Speaking of privacy issues…" She whirled suddenly and everyone in the living room could tell she was looking straight at them. "It's not nice to spy on someone, anodyte." She thrust a hand forward at them, causing one over sized sleeve to fly up over it. Back in the living room, black energy crackled over Verdona's image of the park. Then it shattered like glass with a loud bang.

The woman huffed and tugged her sleeve back down. "Nosy busybodies." She glanced at Ben. "Some female anodyte was watching you. I don't know for how long." Ben sighed.

"I bet that was my grandmother. I wonder who put her up to it." He paused. "How do you even know it was anodyte watching me?" The woman raised an eyebrow.

"I've been around for several thousand years, kid. I know my non earthly races." She deadpanned. She paused for a moment, then said, "If she's family I might have ignored it. It's alright for your family to hear what I have to say." She frowned. "I still say she should have asked permission though." She shook herself and floated a little higher. "Never mind that. Like I said, this place is too open." She waved a hand lazily. A large polished black stone dropped into it. She gave it to Ben. "Just hold that in the air when you get home. It'll call me to you. I promise to explain what I can there." She started rise into the air. Ben jumped forward.

"Wait!" The woman paused and looked down at him. "Who are you?" She grinned.

"That would be telling." She raised a hand when Ben started to protest. "I'll tell you when you call me at your home. See you then!" She floated a little higher and vanished in a flash of light. Serena and Belicus floated over to Ben. Serena cleared her throat.

"She's got me curious." Ben nodded and held out the stone.

"What is this?" Belicus squinted at it.

"It's a special type of gem that's used for summoning whoever or whatever's connected to it. They work using whatever mana is around them." Serena giggled.

"They had a great vogue here on Earth for centuries. I think some places still use them. I suppose it will summon that woman since she made it." Ben nodded once.

"Right. I wanna find out what's going on. Let's go home." Belicus grunted.

"Seconded." He said lazily. Serena blinked owlishly at him.

Finally, she said, "Motion carried." All three of them were engulfed in green light and disappeared with a noise like rushing wind. Just before they vanished Ben heard Serena mutter, "Since when do you agree like that without arguing?" Belicus response was lost in the sound. Something Ben was grateful for.

AN: This is the first time I've managed to break my tradition of having a really short first chapter. If you recognize the woman, You'll be able to recognize the meaning behind the title of the story and the chapter. Unless you're an avid gamer however, most of you probably won't. The game she's from has a very small number of entries for it here, and I've only seen one picture of her on deviant art. I'll give her name next chapter along with exactly what she is.

Ahem: This is actually going to be a Ben & Kevin fic. It's the first time I've ever written anything like that, so bear with me. I'm not going to just drop them together out of nowhere.(I really hope no one does that.) I'm also writing my other story, Ties that bind as well, so things are going to go a little slow until I get the hang of writing two stories at once and get a feel for writing these characters. My friend is helping me with this one, so when I do post, it'll be properly edited. (She's the one who requested I write this. She's also responsible for the creation of Ties that bind. The woman is everywhere .) My profile contains news on upcoming chapters so you can always check there.

Ahem: Now on to the rest of the story. Set after Alien X's first appearance obviously, then it wings away. (Slightly.) I love when Ben gets really annoyed in the show, he gets downright acidic and silly at the same time. His little argument with them about the dinosaurs was one I had to add. I nearly fell out of my chair when I first saw it on the show. (You'd think they'd have given it up by now.) Serena and Belicus really struck me as either an old married couple, or two great friends that just like pushing each other's buttons. I especially liked Belicus. He behaves like we all want to at some level.

See you next chapter! Magicia

Just click that button to send me a review. Flame if you must, but make it constructive. Pointless flames shall heat my cauldron of ideas.


	2. Plua

2. Plua

They landed smack in the center of Ben's living room with a shock wave strong enough to make the pictures rattle on the wall. Kevin was forced to dive to the side to avoid having Ben land on top of him.

"Warning would be nice Benji!" Ben just shrugged.

"I wasn't exactly the one steering. Besides, who expects someone to stand right in the middle of the room for no reason?" Kevin went slightly red.

"Who expects someone to pop in from nowhere?!" Ben shrugged again.

"In our line of work, you should know that's possible. How many times has someone teleported in on us? Or teleported us?" He tuned out Kevin's sputtering as he took in the sight of everyone else sitting on the couch and raised an eyebrow at the sight of what looked like shards of pinkish glass floating over Verdona's head. Verdona shook her head.

"Couldn't fix it or get rid of it for some reason. That lady that was with you really did a number on it." Ben frowned.

"So you were watching me." The group shared a look. "It didn't occur to you to ask what I was doing? It's not like I have any more secrets." He grinned slightly at the mixture of humor and annoyance on Verdona's face and held up the Mana gem. "How do I work this?" Serena floated closer.

"The safest way is to hold it up and blow on it dear. Just focus on wanting it to work." Belicus noted his expression.

"It's the same thing you felt when you removed the Xenocyte from that woman, genius." Ben's expression cleared.

He held the gem up, vaguely hearing Serena rebuke Belicus for the genius comment, and blew gently on it. Light sparkled across the surface and rose slowly into the air in tiny specks. The specks clustered together before exploding in a blinding flash. When the spots faded from his vision, Ben found the woman from the park floating less than an inch away and staring him straight in the eye. He took an involuntary step back in surprise. The woman just laughed.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." She paused. "Well, not much anyway." She turned and regarded Kevin and everyone on the couch. "I sense blood relation from all of them, but he doesn't match at all." She pointed an arm at Kevin as she said the last part. Ben smiled very slightly at the somewhat indignant expression Kevin had.

"It's okay. I trust him." The woman gazed at him. "Them too." He added, pointing at Serena and Belicus. The woman snorted.

"As if I could do anything to them by myself. Alright then, if you're sure you trust him." Ben scowled.

"I'm sure." The woman raised her hands.

"Okay, Okay! I suppose you want some answers." Ben crossed his arms.

"That would be nice." The woman grinned.

"Let's start with my name. I am known as Plua, both by name and race." She paused and turned as Verdona drew in a sharp breath. "You got it anodyte." She turned back to Ben. "I am the Mana of Darkness. My power is the balance to light and draws and controls the embodiment of the opposites that reside within everyone. If you are evil, the darkness in your soul is good, and vice versa." She smiled. "The job's really not as bad as it sounds; there are a few physical aspects to it too. Literal darkness for example." Gwen straightened up.

"Wait. You're mana? mana's just energy." Plua's expression turned slightly irritated as she rotated to face Gwen fully.

"No." She said flatly. "I am a Mana." She said, somehow stressing the capitalization of the last word. "I, like all Mana, help to regulate the flow of the elements, which as a whole is called mana." The way she pronounced it, mana came out sounding like mah-nah, while Mana sounded like man-uh. "There's a rather large difference dearie." She looked up and spotted the ruins of Verdona's viewer floating. Looking supremely unconcerned at Gwen's slightly offended expression, she waved one arm. The pink shards whirled through the air and came to a dead stop in front of her. Plua waved her arm again, and the viewer was suddenly whole again. It disappeared with a pop when Verdona clicked her fingers. Plua turned back to Ben again.

"Anyway, that's the basic job of a Mana. There's a lot more to it than that, but usually only our leaders need to worry about the big stuff. We regulate elements just by existing. The rest of the little things are learned as needed." Ben frowned.

"Little things?" Plua grinned.

"Making our power manifest, flight for those who can, that sort of thing." Kevin crossed his arms.

"What's all that got to do with him?" Plua snorted.

"Would you like to turn into a Mana and not know anything about it?" Her tone was slightly condescending. Everyone stared at her like she'd grown another head. "Well he isn't one just yet, but he'll be one on his birthday. It's in his blood." Ben's mother spoke up for the first time.

"What do you mean it's in his blood? I've never seen any sign of magic or mana or whatever it is, and I think I'd have noticed if he started to look like you." Plua faced Sandra fully and clasped her hands in front of her.

"With all due respect, I highly doubt it." Her tone was surprisingly sincere in its politeness. "First of all, he isn't from my race, so he'd never look like me. Secondly, Mana powers don't manifest in human recipients until just before they make a full transformation." Plua's eyes suddenly lit up with an eerie black light. She swept her gaze over Ben and turned back, the light fading. "By the looks of things, he should have gained his power ten years ago." Verdona narrowed her eyes.

"Why didn't he?" Plua started to shrug, but stopped and leaned back, apparently remembering something.

"I remember now. We all thought five was far too young to go through such a drastic change, so we decided to wait until he turned ten or eleven. But when we checked on him then, it seemed like his powers had vanished. That was especially worrisome to us since your anodyte powers should have been developed enough to manifest by then." She smiled. "Now I can see what happened. It seems that your Mana AND anodyte powers were being devoted solely to powering the Omnitrix, a device that supposedly had its own power source." She giggled at Ben's expression. "Oh yes, we knew about what you and that device were called." Ben shook his head.

"Not that. I remember Vilgax saying once that the Omnitrix had bonded itself to my DNA or something." Plua nodded.

"Even I know of the Omnitrix. We Mana followed your adventures quite closely when you first donned it Ben." She frowned. "We were hoping to find out why your powers had seemed to disappear so suddenly. We eventually figured it out, but there wasn't anything we could do. The Omnitrix had quite literally become a part of you. Removing it would have been like removing an arm. It would have been both painful and life threatening to try." Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you come when he got it off?" Plua glanced down, looking embarrassed.

"His power had been drained. We decided to wait a few years for him to build it back up. We weren't expecting it to come back full force nearly instantly." She smiled ruefully. "None of us had any idea he would recharge his power so quickly. By the time anyone realized what was going on with him, we were in too much trouble to do anything about it." She was looking very grim. "The Highbreed know about us." Ben sat in a recliner with a thump.

"How could they know? I mean, I had no clue you guys even existed." Plua sighed.

"They learned about us by accident. You see, they caught a human that works with us." She shuddered. "It turns out those slimy tentacle things do more than just transform their victims." She wiggled her fingers in a fair imitation of the Xenocyte's usual peculiar gait. "They read the memories and thoughts of the people they capture and relay it to their masters." Kevin straightened up.

"So they suddenly knew what you were capable of and wanted it for themselves." Plua nodded.

"I'm afraid so. They've started laying traps for Mana, and many of us have already been caught." She paused. "We may be able to protect our thoughts and memories from that tentacle thing, but the humans we work with can't." Ben's father frowned.

"Do they know about what Ben is?" Plua sat back in the air, thinking hard. Ben noticed for the first time that she had what looked like a trail of greenish smoke swirling from the bottom of her dress, giving the impression that she was perched on a cyclone.

Finally Plua leaned forward and said, "I don't think so. None of the humans we associate with have been privy to that information as far as I know, and we Mana are fully capable of defending our minds against those tentacle things, even if we can't stop them from transforming us."

"They're called Xenocytes." Ben said. Plua snorted.

"They're nasty whatever name they have. Unfortunately though, once the Highbreed discover Ben's heritage, there's going to be real trouble." She sighed again, sounding somewhat weary. "Those Xenocytes transform us into those creatures. The catch is that while we Mana are still quite aware, we can't do anything about it. We're just passengers. Our bodies still have our powers though, so the Highbreed have them at their disposal. It's a grim situation." Gwen raised an eyebrow.

"And you can't do anything about it?" Plua snorted.

"Did I say that? Of course we're doing something about it. The problem is that the Highbreed are being surprisingly covert. I think it's because they still haven't caught any of the two Mana they want most. Of course, it's a good thing for us that the two they want are among the most rare Mana in existence. With so few of them, the Mana chiefs are doing everything they can to keep them safe." She clapped her hands together suddenly, making everyone else jump. "Speaking of the chiefs, I'm supposed to take you to meet them Ben!" He sat up straight.

"Why?" Plua laughed.

"Any human who gains Mana heritage goes to meet them." Her laughter degenerated into a giggle before stopping. "It's very rare for humans to gain access to their heritage you see. Mana powers have a tendency to skip generations at random in humans, your heritage in particular." Ben frowned.

"So I'm going to be part Mana, part human, and part anodyte?" Plua shook her head.

"No. you will be full Mana and part human and part anodyte. With Mana power it's all or nothing. You will be a Mana through and through, but you'll still be part human and part anodyte. It's a little too difficult for me to explain. Just take my word for it that you'll be Mana first and anything else later." Ben shot a look at Serena. She did the equivalent of a shrug. He looked back at Plua.

"What kind of Mana am I?" Plua bit her lip.

"I'm afraid that's not for me to say." Plua held up her hands as Ben glared at her. "I'm sorry! It's part of a non interference treaty among all Mana. Some Mana have a less than stellar reputation in history and others are just misunderstood. When humans and humanoid races gain their power, a Mana representative goes to meet them and explain things. With the treaty, any other Mana that meet up with the receiver have to play by the rules of the representative. That way the receiver doesn't have too much undue influence." Verdona quirked an eyebrow.

"Is that really that much of a problem?" Plua nodded.

"You'd be surprised. We've had several famous cases where the recipients have killed themselves because of all the negative things they hear." She waved a hand in dismissal. "But enough about that. The Mana that came to you is completely trustworthy and he can help you much better than I can, so we'll worry about that later. Right now though, the chiefs are waiting." She waved an arm, causing black electricity to crackle out of her sleeve and blast into a wall. The energy formed into a gigantic black rectangle that seemed to flicker for a moment before a swirling gray fog appeared inside of it.

Plua gestured at it. "Walk on through if you don't mind." She turned to everyone else. "You may as well see this since you've heard so much already." She turned and swooped over to the portal, coming to a stop next to Ben, who was staring at the fog apprehensively. With a giggle, she grabbed his arm and dragged him in.

They landed with a thump on what looked very much like a storm cloud. Ben struggled to his feet as they shot upwards through the fog. "Where are we?" Plua floated up to his eye level.

"This is a transition area. It exists between realms and connects the Land of Mana to them. The Land of Mana is the origin of all Mana." Ben just nodded and focused on keeping his balance. The cloud was providing a very unsettling ride.

He frowned when he thought of something. "Plua?" She turned to him. "How did you end up in the park?" She blinked.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. The last thing I really remember is that Xeno-thingy latching on to me. Everything after that is blurry, like I was looking out a foggy window. The only thing that I remember clearly is you approaching me with the Omnitrix, followed by a lot of green light." Ben was silent for a moment.

Finally he said, "You showed up less than five minutes after that guy left. My representative, or whatever he is. Maybe he brought you there." He paused and then added, "They're called Xenocytes." Plua rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I suppose it's possible he teleported me there, but why would he bother to do that when he's quite capable of freeing me himself?" Ben shrugged.

"Maybe he didn't want to give himself away." Plua nodded.

"There is that possibility." She smiled. "If nothing else, it proves just how strong a Mana you're going to be. It normally takes members of your race years to get the degree of control over that ability that you exercised back there." Ben shook his head.

"The Omnitrix is what does it, not me." Plua gave him a look.

"It was you that did it. I felt your Mana power." She laced her fingers together looking pensive. After a few minutes she spoke. "I personally think that the Omnitrix bonding to you may have been a very fortunate occurrence. You seem to have more power than most Mana I've ever seen, but it's very well controlled. You were strong enough to get your transformation at age five, though we held off. By age ten, your powers would have had time to grow much stronger, since Mana power growth doesn't peak for several decades. At the age of ten though, your body wouldn't be able to contain its power without constant supervision to help keep it in check." Ben blinked.

"What would have happened if it wasn't contained?" Plua's response made him feel like he had been doused in ice water.

"You would have been obliterated, as would even the weakest of the weak Mana. The sheer power any Mana channels is enormous. You channel so much of it that it think you would have taken quite a bit with you though. By bonding to you and stealing your powers to charge itself, the Omnitrix could very well have saved your life." Ben shivered, having no response to this chilling statement. "Oh look!" Plua said brightly. "We're here! Those are the Mana chiefs up ahead!"

Ben looked to where she was pointing. He could easily make out four figures. The tallest was blue as the ocean, and looked to be made from it too. She had a bright red jewel on her forehead and her expression was gentle. Her arms appeared to be large fins of some kind. He could just barely see bubbles floating through her body at odd intervals. The creature next to her was a sharp contrast. Made entirely from flames, he was about the size of a bowling ball, though he seemed like an ant next to the water being. His head was a teardrop shaped flame plunked on two fiery wings that he was flapping in much the same manner as a butterfly, giving the overall impression of a fire burning without a source in the air. As they got closer, he was able to see that the being's features were the color of charcoal and were set into a slightly bored expression.

Behind the fire creature was something that Ben thought was a flat boulder. Until it stood up on four elephant like legs and turned to face him and Plua. From this angle, he could see a very aged looking face that looked as though it had been carved from the stone, a large broken horn situated directly above the nose. Next to the stone being was one of the most peculiar creatures Ben had ever seen. It was only a little shorter than the water creature in front of it. It had what looked very much like a tribal mask for a face, complete with painted patterns. It had two long tree like legs attached to a somewhat round body. Instead of arms however, it had an enormous pair of wings. The feathers flexed much like fingers.

The cloud landed in front of the four creatures and disappeared. If Plua hadn't caught him with a strand of black energy, Ben would have fallen flat on his back from the sudden change. The four beings in front of him stared at him unblinkingly. Plua smacked him in the back surreptitiously. "Bow to show them respect!" She hissed. Ben quickly ducked into a short bow. He straightened up to find the water being less than three inches from him, having moved very fast in the time it took him to bow and rise. Only a supreme effort kept him from stepping backwards. She looked him over and smiled.

"Glad to see someone with a little courage is receiving their heritage. Most people scream and jump when I do that." Her voice was soft and had a strange echo to it that Ben eventually realized was what was giving him the impression she was speaking underwater. He opened his mouth but she went on without waiting for a reply. "We are the Mana chiefs. I am the Chief of Water." She gestured at the fiery creature. "That is the Chief of Fire." The little creature nodded to them. The Water Chief pointed a fin at the four legged boulder. "That is the Chief of Stone, or Earth if you prefer." The Stone Chief grinned at them, which intensified the craggy look on his face. Finally she pointed at the odd totem-like creature behind her. "This is the Chief of Wind." The Wind Chief flapped his wings once, creating a rather large gust of wind that sent Ben and Plua's hair flying. The Water Chief rose into the air and glided back to her original spot.

"Come forward so that we may all examine you." After a second Ben stepped forward, stopping when the Fire Chief shot up and spun around him at a dizzying speed. The little creature was moving so quickly that he blurred into a solid line of flame. Ben blinked several times to clear away the after images when it stopped. The little fireball of a face hovered level with Ben's nose before it zipped backwards.

"Oh, yeah! We definitely got a live on here!" His flames changed to a curious set of angles as he spoke. After a moment Ben realized that the chief was doing the equivalent of putting his fists on his hips. His voice crackled a little like the fire he was made of, though it was a surprisingly deep. Since he was still floating, Ben assumed the flapping wings were just for show. Plua confirmed this a moment later, whispering that the sheer heat was what kept him in the air. The Earth Chief was very quick to reply.

"I should think he's alive. I don't see why Plua would bring us a dead human." His voice was low and gravelly, but perfectly understandable. The Fire Chief sighed and opened his mouth, but subsided when the Water Chief shook her head and mouthed something to him. The Earth Chief ignored them both. "You come into your power at a very dangerous time for all Mana, human child. But perhaps that is to everyone's benefit." The Wind Chief nodded.

"At a time when the Highbreed are searching for experienced and full grown Mana, a fledgling may just escape their notice." The Wind Chief's voice took Ben by surprise. It sounded quite human, though there was a slight accent that he couldn't identify. Ben had been expecting something more airy. The Wind Chief flapped his wings once. "We don't know the entirety off their goals, but we cannot allow them to continue unchallenged." Ben opened his mouth, but the Water Chief beat him to it.

"We know of your guerrilla tactics with the Omnitrix against the Highbreed, and while they are effective, they are not enough to turn the tide against them at the present time. We need a more concerted effort. Even fueled by your power, the Omnitrix alone cannot fix the damages that Earth has acquired by the captures of the Mana that help sustain it." Ben narrowed his eyes.

"So you think it was the Omnitrix that caused me to lose my power." It was more of a statement than a question. It was the Stone Chief who answered.

"We have heard Plua's opinion and it is precisely the same as our own. At the age of ten, your power level far exceeded that of any other Mana that age. And it was still growing." The Wind Chief nodded.

"At that age however, your body would not be able to house that power without constant help, regardless of whether the Mana power was active or not. One slip-up would be all it would take for it to break free, and it would have taken out considerably more than just yourself. You were almost always near a place that augments Mana power. Even the smallest of boosts makes a big difference when it's uncontrolled." The Water Chief waved a fin idly.

"The Omnitrix probably bound itself to you to protect both you and it from destruction. We had that theory reinforced when we heard how much it could destroy if its self-destruct went off. By using your excess Mana powers to charge itself, it kept you safe from yourself, and by using your anodyte power to stabilize and regulate the energy flow it ensured the safety of both of you." She paused and added, "It seems the most likely reason you survived without any other aid. It discovered the problem and took steps to remedy it." Ben frowned.

"Wait, You're making it sound like it can think for itself. It can't can it?" The Fire Chief rose to his eye level.

"We have suspected for some time now that the Omnitrix holds some semblance of sentient ability. It can clearly act for itself once verbal commands are given to it. It also is obviously able to formulate answers on its own. We have seen proof of both of those when you used it to change back your cousin some time ago, and Plua earlier today." He raised a tongue of flame like a hand when Ben started to speak. "I don't mean that it's completely sentient, just to a point. It can't think for itself the way you or I can, or if it can, it keeps quiet about it. The best description would be that it has a strong sense of preservation." Ben half-smiled.

"Azmuth did say that he created the Omnitrix as a means of making ties with races all across the galaxy. Maybe this is part of it." The Water Chief nodded.

"Perhaps. It is mystery to us for the most part." She frowned suddenly, and in a very dry voice said, "It's no mystery to us that it will most likely be as difficult to remove this time as it was when you last wore it." She shrugged and in her normal voice said, "It may just allow you to remove it once IT deems you to be safe without it. Who can say?" She waved a fin in dismissal. "Enough about that. We should talk to you about the real reason we called you here." Ben frowned and thought for a second.

"You said Earth itself is damaged." The Water Chief nodded.

"Without enough Mana to help regulate the flow, the elements have been thrown out of balance. If they aren't fixed soon, planet Earth will perish. Very few of the elements can be regulated by a single Mana, the rest require a fairly large number to do it effectively." She made a gesture with her left fin, causing a water ball to fly out and expand to float in the air. The surface shimmered for a moment before it turned completely black.

Ben watched it for several moments and blinked when sparks of light suddenly peppered the darkness, rather like a curtain sweeping aside. He realized he was looking at the night sky. The Fire Chief spoke up. "This happened when you set Plua free. With her away from the Xenocyte's control, there were enough dark Mana to put the night sky to rights." He frowned. "Unfortunately things are much worse than a lack of starry nights." The Stone Chief nodded.

"Earth is already dying. It is slow to be sure, but it is dying all the same. In certain places the sun doesn't shine at all during the day, nothing but clouds to see. The Highbreed have been very successful in capturing many fire Mana as well. Without them to ensure the flow of heat, and without the sun to give its own warmth, Earth will freeze." Ben felt the icy shiver come back full blast.

"Can't the Mana all hide here where the Highbreed can't get them? Why go to Earth at all?" The Wind Chief shook his head.

"To properly control the elements, Mana must go to Earth form time to time. It's quite impossible to work out large problems from this great a distance. If it were, we would have already done so." His expression never changed, reminding Ben very strongly of Belicus. The Water Chief drew his attention by causing the bubble to burst loudly.

"The situation isn't as critical as it sounds right now." She smiled slightly. "For the most part, it will be a slow process. However, it is pressing that fire and light Mana be set free soon. The world needs the sun, and without the fire Mana, the planet could freeze from the inside out. We can only preserve the current condition of the planet for so long. We must find the captured Mana and set them free." She leveled her gaze at him. "You have the power and the control necessary to accomplish such a feat. If we discover any captured Mana, they will be sent your way. With prior warning of course." She spread her arms wide. "For now, the most we can do is unlock a few of your powers." She waved her arms in an oddly fluid motion. A ray of blue light lanced out and hit Ben head on. He shuddered as a strange wave of something seemed to pass over him. The Water Chief lowered her arms looking satisfied. "Unlocking your Mana senses is the most we can do. You will need your gift for the rest." The Fire Chief nodded.

"In addition to your main element, you also have some power over fire, though not to the extent of a fire Mana. When you fully gain your power tomorrow, you will automatically begin to regulate any elements you can control within your range. We will make certain your representative informs you on how to do it consciously." The Stone Chief cracked a grin.

"Though you may not need all that much instruction. It seems the Omnitrix is capable of activating and controlling some of your powers for you. It drew on your power to set Plua free once you approved it. My best guess would be that it created a few links directly to some of your abilities, the ones you would need the most." The Wind Chief flapped his wings once.

"We are glad to have met you. Having you on our side will greatly help us." The Water Chief spread her fin-like arms wide.

"We will see you again after you have gained your power, but for now we would like to wish you the best of luck on your life ahead." She paused. "And your life-mate's too come to think of it, when and if you find them. Until tomorrow, Benjamin." The cloud reformed and lifted them up and away before Ben could say anything to her.

As the strange gray fog formed around them, Ben turned to Plua. "What did she mean life-mate?" Plua giggled.

"Every Mana has someone somewhere that completes them, that is their other half, just as humans do. You don't have to be with that person any more than humans have to be with theirs, but just remember that while you can find happiness with others, only with your life-mate will you truly find happiness and satisfaction." Ben frowned.

"So I have to find this life-mate? How will I know when I find her?" Plua smiled.

"You don't HAVE to find them and I didn't say they were a her. It could be anyone, male or female; it's the same deal for humans. As for how you'll know…" She shrugged. "You just will. I can't really explain it. Just know that you will know without a doubt when you've found them. The only thing I know for sure is that your life-mate will never be a member of your family, and is never someone who you are physically incompatible with." She shrugged again. "The best advice I can give you is to just be yourself and let things happen as they will. Actively pursuing someone never works well." Ben stared at her.

"So it could be anyone at all? " Plua raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I suppose so." She said slowly. She hurried on at the look on his face. "But like I said, you don't have to be with them. You could just as easily be with someone else, even if you are technically settling for less." She paused, looking slightly relieved as Ben's expression cleared. "I must say, you're taking all this much better than most do." He quirked an eyebrow. "Most people take a lot of convincing from the Mana chiefs before they'll even begin to stop thinking we're all a bunch of raving lunatics." Ben's other eyebrow joined the first.

"I've seen plenty of crazy things already, but this just about takes the cake." It was Plua's turn to raise her eyebrows. "You know this is all a little hard to take at face value right? I mean, come on! I fight alien thugs on an almost daily basis. I can turn into a fire wielding monster and some kind of ice moth whenever I want. I consider my life right now to just about the definition of crazy!" Plua floated backwards quickly as he started gesturing rather wildly. "Now I find out that I'm some kind of elemental creature that no one's allowed to tell me about, the Earth is dying, and the Highbreed are well aware of all of you and are the direct cause of the problem! And that's not even mentioning the Omnitrix and this "life-mate" business! This is beyond crazy! This is insanity incarnate! Is it too much to ask for a little decent proof?!" He huffed and crossed his arms. "Next you'll tell me Mana don't have blood or something." Plua slowly floated back in range.

After a minute she said, "I will not deny that you have definitely received the short end of the stick in regards to information on your heritage. If it weren't for the treaty, I'd tell you everything myself. As for proof, if you mean proof of what I am and what you are, I can do that." She paused then added, "Mana have green blood just like humans." Ben blinked.

"Humans have red blood." Plua smiled, this time looking somewhat secretive.

"You won't." Ben stared at her blankly.

Finally he shook his head. "I'm not even gonna ask." Plua's smile widened into a smirk.

"Then I won't tell you. I'm sure you'll find out eventually anyway, all Mana do." She moved on before he could respond. "Now then, about some decent proof…" She flipped her voluminous sleeve back, exposing her hand and proceeded to roll it up her arm. Black light crackled across her fingers briefly. "I suppose you're feeling a strange buzzing sensation in the back of your head right now?" Ben nodded warily. Plua's smirk turned downright scary. She swooped down and grabbed Ben's hand in hers. "How about now?" Ben went cross-eyed as the buzzing seemed to magnify explosively in his head.

"My head feels like an army firing range!" He clutched at his hair. Plua nodded and released him. Ben sighed as the buzzing faded back to its previous level. "What was that?!" He started rubbing his forehead, trying to clear away the headache that was brewing. Plua leaned back looking satisfied.

"THAT was what you feel when you're around another Mana. It only magnifies like that when you're awareness is forced by someone, like I just did. The rest of the time it's fairly quiet, and for the most part, easy to ignore." She frowned. "It won't take much for you to learn how to deal with it, but I wouldn't recommend ignoring it, at least, not right now. It could be your only warning that you're facing a captured Mana." Ben sighed.

"Okay look, I'm sorry I snapped like that. You didn't deserve it. It's just… a lot to take in, and it does sound more than a little crazy no matter how you look at it. But… you've convinced me." Plua nodded.

"It's alright. I was wondering when you'd go off anyway. That was the strangest inheritance meeting I've attended with the Mana chiefs to date." She gave him a rather resigned smile and shook her head. "You must understand, you're a rather special case. You're a rare Mana, and long overdue for your powers to be freed. You have one of the most powerful and dangerous devices in existence strapped to your wrist, and have worn it before, yet still managed to retain your innocence and use it only for good. This same device bonded to you before and saved your life along with possibly many others, making it impossible for anyone to remove it, meaning that it was subject to the whims of you and you alone." Her smile widened into a smirk. "You are uniquely special in that you still are yourself and not some power crazed madman like Vilgax was. I think very few people in existence could resist the allure that the Omnitrix presents, but you did." Ben flushed slightly and looked down for a moment. Plua's smirk faded into a kind smile. "Any other questions?"

Ben looked up. "Just one. You said that the Highbreed found out about you because they captured a human that worked with you. How many humans work with you?" Plua frowned.

"Not all that many actually. I think it was about twelve last time I checked. Mind you, a fair number of humans know of our existence even if they don't work with us."

"Like who?" Plua bit her lip.

"Well, there's the ruler of Belkhyde, Queen Audrey, though everyone calls her Fee. Belkhyde is the land where most of the Mana reside when they aren't in the Land of Mana. Actually, most people in Belkhyde know about Mana, but they can't go to Earth like we can, so it isn't a problem. There are some people on Earth that know about us though."

"Oh?" She nodded.

"Yes. Let me think…AH! England's royal family is aware of us, and so is the White House. Seeing the expression Ben was giving her, she said, "Henry the Eighth discovered us when he had a Mana relative attend one of his weddings. As for the White House, they were let in on the secret during the Truman administration's restoration of the mansion. They unearthed a Stone Mana when they were excavating new rooms." She smiled reminiscently. "I actually got to be part of the group that went to meet President Truman and explain things to him. We all liked him and his straightforwardness. He was a good man." She shook herself. "Anyway, the secret has been passed from president to president and through the staff of England's palaces ever since they found out about us." She frowned. "There's one more human that knows about us, or did know about us, depending on how you view it." Ben looked at her somewhat guarded expression.

"Who?" Plua took a very deep breath.

"Max Tennyson." Ben jerked his head up to stare at her. Plua shook her head. "He knew more about us than some of the people that worked with us, and that's saying something all on its own. I did my best to stay well away from him after our first meeting." Ben narrowed his eyes at her.

"You knew grandpa?" Plua let out a rather inelegant snort.

"Knew is a bit strong. I think it would be more accurate to say we've met." She clasped her hands together. "You see, I was to be your representative the first time around. When you were five I mean. I think you may be able to remember it if you concentrate hard. I only spoke with you for about ten minutes before I suddenly found myself at gunpoint." Ben blinked.

"Grandpa pulled a gun on you?" Plua waved a hand.

"Well it was a null-void projector really. It wouldn't have done all that much good since a Mana's powers will literally act as a tether to Earth, but traveling there is very unpleasant when it's not under your own power and it takes most Mana days to regain enough control over their powers to pull themselves out, myself included. Anyway, he seemed to think I was a rouge alien at first, and he didn't hesitate to try to get me away from you. He finally started listening to me when I fried his projector and hung him upside down from the ceiling." Ben felt his eyebrows shoot up.

"You got the best of grandpa?" His tone was very disbelieving. Plua smirked.

"It helps when you can put out the lights at a whim. Most people can't hit something they can't see. We had a nice little chat I suppose. I explained what I was and why I was there. Your grandfather didn't take too well to the idea of you changing at such a young age, though I think it may have had more to do with the fact that no one in your family would have a clue how to take care of you." She frowned. "I could tell he wasn't thrilled at the prospect of you having to leave entirely. You see, I'd told him that at your age, you weren't developed enough mentally to control your powers. It would have taken round the clock Mana supervision to keep them in check, which meant you would have had to leave your family." Ben crossed his arms.

"So what happened then? Did you just leave?" Plua shook her head.

"I asked the Mana Chiefs what to do. It was one of the few times they've ever come to Earth itself. In the end we agreed to wait a little while and check on you again later. Although that was only on the condition that your grandfather keep an eye on you and let us know if your powers started to get out of hand. After that particular meeting, he started looking up anything he could find on us, and he found out quite a bit. Therefore, it behooved us to find out about his occupation. We'd already known about the null-void for centuries but the tech was new." Ben blinked as he remembered something.

"I called you Maid-lady didn't I?" Plua giggled.

"Yes you did. Funniest thing I'd heard in years. You were quite determined to keep calling me that too." She paused as the fog started to solidify into Ben's living room. "He's a good person, and an able fighter, your grandfather. Very intelligent too." Ben looked down.

"You mean he was." Plua shook her head.

"No, I mean he IS. You don't think we weren't watching you when it happened? It's not as if he was blown to bits you know. He simply got transported to the null-void. It's just a holding cell of sorts, not a death sentence. Not unless they really want it to be. Your friend Kevin should be proof enough of that." Ben looked up sharply.

"Can Mana take someone out of the null-void with them?" Plua smiled as the living room became fully solid around them.

"Yes, if it's a blood relation. You could do it once you've had some decent practice with your powers. It takes a lot of work to go the null-void directly on our own, but it can be done. Just remember, leaving is much harder than getting there. You could be lost to it forever if you aren't careful." She flicked her hand at the rectangle of swirling fog behind them. It disappeared with a rather shrill whirring sound. Still smiling, Plua turned back to face Ben. "Let that be your incentive to master your power." She sank into a sort of a curtsy in midair.

"Your representative will arrive once you open the present from him, so be ready for him to pop up any time after that." She straightened up. "I'll be dropping by too. I can keep an eye on things through the Mana gem I gave you. I'll be sure to give you warning before I drop in though, wouldn't want to land on anyone." She raised her arms and started to rise up. "For now though, get some sleep. I have a feeling you'll need it. See you tomorrow Ben." She vanished in a flash of blinding light.

Silence reigned in the living room for a good ten minutes. Finally Kevin spoke up. "Henry the Eighth and President Truman? That doesn't sound a little far-fetched to you?" Ben nearly jumped out of his skin when Serena appeared from out of nowhere in front of him and responded. He realized suddenly that she and Belicus hadn't followed him through the portal with Plua.

"I think it's quite fascinating! And there are records to back her up. Many of the White House carpenters wrote about digging up some strange creature, and England's royal staff has passed down stories about odd creatures for years." Ben cleared his throat quietly.

"I believe Plua. Truth tends to be way stranger than fiction. Besides, she doesn't seem like the lying type." Verdona snorted.

"No Mana is the lying type kiddo." They all stared at her. "Mana don't lie, it isn't in their nature. They may leave something out so it seems like a lie, but they don't outright deceive you, not with words anyway." She frowned slightly. "It's been decades since I've seen a Mana. Now they're getting even scarcer. That's not a good thing." She crossed her arms. "I've heard of the Mana Chiefs too. They are the main force that keeps the planet together. Without them, Earth and everything on it will fade away into non-existence." Ben drew in a deep breath.

"So it's like Vilgax all over again." He shrugged. "I can handle that." Gwen looked skeptical at this, but chose to pursue a different subject.

"What about the Omnitrix being sentient? I think that's a little far-fetched." Ben shook his head.

"Not really. I think the Fire Chief may be right. It does kind of think for itself. I had no idea it could free people from Xenocytes, but it brought it up first. It's done stranger stuff too. A few nights ago, it started up some kind of radar out of the blue. After a few minutes it said, "Elemental anomaly detected. Location is thirteen miles east of present position." Then it just changed back to its usual shape. I don't know what think about it anymore." Gwen raised an eyebrow at him.

"That sounds a little far-fetched too." Kevin shook his head.

"I believe him." At the arched eyebrow aimed at him, he said, "His left eye twitches when he lies." Gwen stared at him, then Ben, who reached up and felt his left eye briefly.

Dropping his hand, Ben said, "Never mind that. What I'm worried about is what's going to happen to the Omnitrix. I don't want to do something that might damage it. And I definitely don't want to accidentally set off the self destruct countdown again." He sighed. "I wish Azmuth was here. He made this thing. He should be able to give me some answers about it." Gwen frowned.

"Should doesn't mean will. Remember the last time we met him? If Azmuth knows the answers, odds are good he won't tell you." Ben nodded looking resigned. "Anyway, I'm not sure he'd know anymore than you would. Even Serena and Belicus didn't know what Plua was, and they're supposed to know everything. Sounds to me like they're a pretty well kept secret." Ben started to say something, but Kevin cut him off.

"There's no point agonizing over it. Just wait till tomorrow. Whatever happens, happens." Ben grinned slightly.

"Maybe you're right. I am pretty curious about who my representative is though. Guess I'll find out tomorrow." His mother smiled.

"Yes, I'm sure you will. I have a few questions for him myself. Speaking of tomorrow, you and Gwen will be coming won't you Kevin? I know Gwen's parents will be here." Kevin started to speak, but Gwen cut him off.

"Of course we're coming! We wouldn't miss it for anything!" Sandra beamed.

"Good! We'll be eating in the backyard if the weather's nice, so dress light." Gwen nodded.

"Ken's back from college, so I'm sure he'll come too." She glanced at the clock. "Right now though, Julie and I are supposed to go shopping, and Kevin did say he'd take us." She shot a look at Kevin, who grimaced.

"No shrieking in the car." Was all he said. Gwen smirked as she opened the front door.

"No promises, sometimes we're gonna shriek." Julie giggled.

"Like when you and Ben watch football."

The door closed on Kevin's rather piercing shout of, "We do not shriek!" Ben rubbed his forehead.

"Why do I get the feeling that they're going to be doing that all the way to the mall?" Without looking down, he sidestepped the beeping blur that was Ship. The alien morph jumped and caught the door handle, pulling the door open and shooting outside. Ship leaped and morphed with the bumper of Kevin's car as it started to pull out of the driveway. "And why does that seem like a recipe for disaster?" Belicus appeared and gave an exaggerated wink of one eye at the open door. It shut with a crisp click.

"Because you know them genius, that's why." Verdona rose from her seat on the sofa.

"I'll be back tomorrow kiddo, so don't think you've seen the last of me. This is way too interesting to pass up." She smiled and snapped her fingers and was gone. Silence reigned inside for a few minutes. Finally Ben looked at his mother.

"You put Kevin on the spot like that on purpose didn't you?" She gave him an entirely unconvincing look of innocence and slipped back into the kitchen. Carl unfolded his newspaper.

"I'd take that as a yes, son." He turned to the sports section. "She thinks he's a ruffian, but she seems to like him for some odd reason." Ben couldn't find anything to say in response to this. Finally he turned to Serena and Belicus.

"Let's go upstairs and I'll work on resolving some more of your unfinished business." They rose higher and moved up the stairs faster than he could blink. Ben followed at a more sedate pace, thinking. "_I'm going to have to make them give me a list if I ever want to finish old business. And what's up with mom? She's acting really weird._" His last thought as he reached his room was, "_How the heck did Kevin know that about my eye anyway?_" As it turned out, Kevin was having questions of his own.

Kevin turned his head slightly and cut into the conversation going on behind him. "Gwen, Julie." They both went quiet and looked at him. "What the hell do you get someone like Ben for a present?" He didn't find the exchanging of blank looks or the long drawn out silence reassuring. Finally they both looked at him.

"I think you're gonna have to wing it." They said in unison. Kevin groaned and thumped his head against the steering wheel.

"Thanks. That makes it so much easier." He was sure this was going to be a long mall trip.

AN: Wow. way too long to write this chapter and proof it. (Grammar check function especially disliked the Mana, and mana uses.) Fortunately that's out of the way and this is up. COngratulations to anyone who guessed what and who our mystery maid from last chapter was, she's more than a little difficult to recognize if you haven't played the Atelier Iris games, the series from which she comes. (Fee, and the Mana chiefs too.) Plua is here for a reason. in all three Americanized games, she is either the first mana you obtain, or the first one you speak with. (Even in the first one, she's the first non-event Mana you come across.)

Ahem: Ben's powers are coming out fully next chapter. Along with a little shopping trip to the mall. Kevin seems to be rather bad at shopping for anything NOT car related, so we'll see how that turns out. Till then.

P.S. I do read reviews and attempt to reply to all of them. I think starting next chapter I'll start answering unsigned reviews here.

Just click that button to send me a review. Flame if you must, but make it constructive. Pointless flames shall heat my cauldron of ideas.


	3. Antiquity

You all know the drill by now. I don't own this, blah, blah, blah

3. Antiquity

The journey to the mall itself was uneventful, unless one counted the period of time that Kevin spent freaked out and fighting to keep the car on the road as Ship suddenly announced his presence by pulling himself away from the bumper and attached to a random light post, the connection causing the vehicle to lurch suddenly. The ensuing period of shrieking, swerving, and cursing in a variety of alien languages that perhaps only Ben would be able to understand could almost be considered funny to an outside observer. The remainder of the trip was spent in an admirable attempt to lower heart rates to normal levels, and a valiant effort by all parties to ignore the green and black light post that was cantering along next to them. Everyone was simply thankful that the road was deserted.

It was fifteen minutes later that the mall came into view. Ship picked this moment to morph back onto Kevin's bumper, this time without causing any sort of control issues, leaving the light post to smash to the ground behind them. Kevin grabbed Ship as the mecha-morph started to detach from the car again.

Holding the little alien creature so that he looked straight into his large eye, he growled, "No messing with my car again. And stay with us." Ship beeped extremely rapidly and melted out of Kevin's hands like goo and hurriedly oozed over to Julie. She squeaked as he jumped up and morphed with her belt, the buckle turning into Ship's eye. Gwen frowned as Ship let out a hollow sounding sigh.

"Kevin!" He scowled.

"You want a street light following us inside?" He turned and stomped towards the entrance. "And nothing messes with my car!" Gwen just rolled her eyes.

"Ok, whatever." She frowned. "Did you have any ideas on what to get Ben?" Kevin shook his head.

"I was kinda occupied keeping an affectionate street-light from destroying us." Julie giggled in spite of herself.

"Oh c'mon, Ship didn't mean any harm." Ship beeped affirmatively. They both let out a squeak when Kevin rounded on them and favored them with a look that could have curdled water. Julie held up her hands. "Sorry!" She sighed. "Ok, look. Why don't you just look for something he'd like?" Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"And just what would that be?" Julie shrugged.

"That's up to you. We already got him our presents." Gwen frowned and seemed to decide to take pity on him.

"Nothing fancy. Ben doesn't really care for anything flashy except for the Omnitrix, and that doesn't really count. You've known him long enough to be able to tell what he definitely wouldn't like. Just use your best judgment." She looked at her watch. "Why don't we meet in the food court in a half hour or so? I could probably use my powers to tell if he'd like what you get him." Kevin blinked.

"I didn't think you could do something like that." Gwen shrugged.

"I can track people using their belongings. Finding out what appeals to them shouldn't be much harder." She smiled rather widely and pulled a scrap of something green out of her pocket. "Ben almost never goes anywhere without his jacket. A DNAlien took a chunk out of it about a week ago. Aunt Sandra fixed it, but I saved one of the scraps she couldn't use. I thought it might come in handy." Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"You scare me sometimes, you know that?" Gwen's smile widened.

"Yes. I do." She grabbed Julie's arm and raised it high. "To the Shops! Charge!" She shouted in a display that Kevin would have fully expected from Ben. Gwen doing it caught him entirely off guard, which was probably her intent. After a moment he shook himself and spotted the two girls giggling madly as they climbed on an escalator. Julie waved.

"Meet you at the food court!" A loud beep from Ship punctuated her statement. Kevin snorted and looked around.

"Great. Where do I even start looking for a present for a Mana?"

"You could try that shop over there." A less battle hardened person than Kevin would have yelped at the sudden high-pitched voice speaking in his ear. As it was, he jumped nearly a foot in the air before whirling around to find the source.

She might have passed for a child. If she weren't around two and a half feet tall and floating a good four feet off the ground that is. She had a cascade of red-gold hair that was only partially controlled by an oversized hood that was so faintly purple it almost looked gray. It reminded him very strongly of the person Ben had met in the park. Unlike that person however, this one's hood did not cover the face. It sat on top of her head and seemed to billow out with two yellow patches near the top that looked very much like eyes. The face was feminine, though remarkably young. The sleeves of the robe obscured the being's hands in much the same manner that Plua's outfit had, minus the lace. Like Plua too, this creature's feet were not visible, though Kevin suspected that Plua did not actually have any feet, whereas this being's were likely just obscured by the flowing garment. She held a glowing yellow lantern attached to an oversized ring in one hand. The creature made a sweeping bow, causing the lantern to rattle gently.

"Sorry if I startled you. I sensed some lingering power from a Mana, so I came out." Kevin blinked.

"I'm guessing you're a Mana then." It was more statement than question. The creature bowed again, this time doing a complete flip in midair, the lantern swinging crazily.

"No guesses on that." She smiled. "I am Flay, Mana of Spirit." Kevin frowned.

"So what exactly do you do?" Flay giggled.

"My power is over spirits that have left their existence on Earth but have not moved on to their next destination. In layman's terms, I have powers over ghosts and ghouls and the various and sundry spectral wonders that reside in the universe. I can also work with the spirits of the living to a limited extent, meaning I can affect the emotions of those still living, though not to the extent I could if they were without a body and a life to empower it." Kevin blinked.

"What do you mean "A life to empower it"?" Flay shrugged.

"Free will is a powerful gift that most living beings take for granted. It is only once they've lost the body that houses so much of it that they understand just how great it is. The body houses so much of the soul while it lives that a person can do virtually anything within their power if they want to. When they die, most of the soul's power is used to facilitate the beings transition to the next phase. There's not much left over after that, which leaves those who stay behind with rather severe limitations. For some beings it would be far better to pass on completely." Kevin shook his head, looking faintly confused.

"Why are you hanging out around here then?" Flay shrugged elegantly.

"This place runs pretty high on emotions all the time. They aren't spirits, but they'll do well enough." Kevin closed his eyes for a moment before letting the conversation go.

"Why did you say I should shop… where was it again?" Flay cocked an eyebrow and pointed the lantern at a small shop just in front of the food court that he had never seen before.

"Over there. It's called Antiquity. It's a shop that caters to Mana and those that work with them." The display in the windows made the shop look so out of place that it was astonishing that he had never seen it. One window was dominated by a display of what looked to be thousands of precious jewels floating in the air. They were shining with an unnatural intensity that made for an eye-catching view. The second of the two largest windows was more moderate, though no less interesting. A giant cauldron sat on top of a roaring flame, giving off large quantities of steam that changed color constantly. Every few seconds the steam would break apart into a stream of shapes and back to normal. Kevin blinked twice.

"Okay. That's not completely abnormal or anything." Flay started giggling.

"It certainly has a unique charm to it doesn't it?" She motioned Kevin towards the shop.

Ducking her lantern as he pushed open the door, he said, "It's…original. Let's leave it at that." He whirled when the door slammed shut behind him and vanished. Before he could act, someone spoke up from the back of the shop.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Kevin and Flay turned to see a woman come around a display rack of what appeared to be glass beakers. She was wearing the type of dress that Kevin had once heard Ben refer to as a "floor mop". The dress was a deep midnight blue and had a purple band of lightly ruffled fabric nearly the same color that ran around the hem, extending it by a good three inches. It was belted tightly at the waist by a wide band of gold. The top half the dress was sleeveless, the fabric of it wrapping completely over her front and criss-crossing in the back before connecting at her neck where it was fastened by what appeared to be an emerald brooch. She had on a pair of dark colored high heels and elbow length silvery colored gloves. She wouldn't have looked out of place at a ball.

Her hair however, was what truly set her apart. It was a brilliant sky blue and held in a loose bun. Kevin guessed that was her natural hair color since it seemed to go all the down to the roots. The woman gestured at the door. "I prefer not to keep the door open too long if I can help it. This shop connects to a lot more places than that mall you came from, and no one can get in from another location while it's open." She smiled and shook her head setting the moon earring in left ear swaying, its movement following the same pattern as the star earring in her right ear. "That and I like to know when someone comes into my establishment." She clapped her hands together and rubbed them briskly. "Now then, what can I do for you? You look as if you don't really know what you're looking for. Are you a new alchemist?" Kevin blinked twice.

"Uh… no. I don't really care about turning lead into gold." The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Definitely not an alchemist then." She muttered. She frowned at him before visibly letting it go. "Alchemy is about a lot more than transmutation of lead." She frowned again. "The question then, is why you are here if it's not for an alchemy related reason? I can't see why else Flay would be with you." Flay shook her head.

"I've never shown myself to him before now. I came out because I smelled a Mana on him." She made a sort of shrug that had Kevin dodging her lantern again. "I heard him say something about getting a present for a Mana." This prompted the shopkeeper to give Kevin an once-over that he found to be very unnerving.

"Really now. If you aren't an alchemist, how would you know about Mana? As secrets go, that's a rather large one we keep." Kevin bit his lip, wondering how much to say.

After a full minute of the woman staring at him with her amber colored irises seeming to bore into him, he sighed. "Plua says my friend is turning into one." The shopkeeper blinked twice and stepped back.

"I think you should be making some explanations. The only Plua operating on Earth was captured some time ago." Kevin shrugged.

"My friend set her free from the Highbreed's xenocyte." Flay and the woman exchanged a look before the woman grabbed him by the arm and dragged him around the display rack she had emerged from. She then pulled a tall stool from seemingly nowhere and pushed Kevin down on it.

"Sit." She narrowed her eyes at him. "How on Earth do you know about the Highbreed?" She demanded. Kevin crossed his arms and scowled at her.

"Why should I tell you anything? I don't even know who you are!" The woman took a step back in surprise. "You just blaze in demanding answers like I'm going to tell you whatever you want to know! How's that supposed to make me talk?" The shopkeeper had by now gone an interesting shade of red that contrasted oddly with her hair. She sat down with a thump across from him, mirroring his position in spite of the fact she wasn't sitting on anything visible.

She sighed. "You have my apologies. I tend to get a little too drawn in to things, especially one as important as this." She gave him an overly bright smile and held out her hand. "I am Lulubelle Triane." She pronounced it "Tree-Ane". It would be quite some time until Kevin saw it written down. After a few minutes of Kevin looking at her hand like it would explode, Lulubelle frowned and lowered it. "You already know Flay it seems." The Mana gave a slight curtsy. "Now exactly who are you?"

Grudgingly, he said, "Kevin Leven. My friends and I've been fighting against the Highbreed for a while now." Lulubelle blinked twice.

"A guerilla strike team eh? Glad to see someone's doing something against them. Though I'd still like to know how you discovered anything about them. For all the trouble they've caused us, the Highbreed have been remarkably secretive." Kevin shrugged.

"They weren't exactly being subtle when they set a bunch of DNAliens after my friend's grandpa." He smirked. "And the tech they use isn't something you see everyday either. Alien cloaking tech isn't exactly common on Earth." Lulubelle arched an eyebrow.

"No I suppose it isn't." She frowned. "Why would the Highbreed want your friend's grandfather?" Kevin shrugged.

"Who knows? He did blow up one of their factories, but they were after him long before that. All Ben got was a recording."

"Ben?" Kevin coughed.

"That's my friend. Ben Tennyson." Lulubelle sat bolt upright.

"The same one who wields the Omnitrix?" Kevin stared at her. "That explains a good deal. We've been keeping an eye on him for years now, and Max Tennyson is something of a legend among the Mana." She smiled. "Besides, I heard plenty about the Tennyson family every time I had a visit from my cousins. Apparently they were enemies of Benjamin and Gwendolyn." Kevin blinked.

"You're kidding right?" Lulubelle shook her head.

"I doubt Tennyson is a common surname in this area. And they were quite vehement about himit. I believe he would know them as Charmcaster and Hex." Seeing that Kevin had been effectively rendered speechless, she continued speaking. "Personally I don't see why they have such a big deal with losing every now and again. Though I have to admit that it's suspiciously coincidental how they always seemed to run into him whenever they planned something big." She sniffed. "Perhaps that's why they called him a meddler. Every time I saw him, he struck me as an engaging child, if a little overly exuberant." Kevin blinked.

"You were watching him too?" Lulubelle shrugged.

"I live just above my shop, so that puts his home fairly close to mine." She frowned slightly. "Besides, When the Mana chiefs ask you to do them a favor, saying no isn't really an option." She shrugged again. "I admit I helped him out on several occasions, though I was as inconspicuous as possible. It wouldn't do for my cousins to know that I was watching over their enemy. Mind you, the incident with the fountain of youth put the kibosh on just about any thing they had planned for a while, but it didn't stop them from coming back for more. They're ridiculously tenacious. I suppose they're biding their time somewhere. I haven't heard from them in quite a while."

She frowned. "I have to admit though; Benjamin didn't really need physical help particularly often. Usually he was in need of a little nudge to make him figure things out. The aliens in his Omnitrix were, and still are, more than sufficient where physical power is concerned." She pursed her lips. "I wonder how he can stand it." It was several minutes before the silence was broken.

"Stand what?" Both Kevin and Lulubelle jumped, having completely forgotten the until now silent presence that was the hovering Flay.

"The transformations. Given some of the differences in his forms, it must be an… _interesting _experience to turn into them." Kevin didn't miss the slight hesitation she made and it left him wondering exactly what she was trying to say. The woman shot him a glance before rising from her nonexistent seat. "Of course the only one who'd know for sure is Benjamin, and he may very well refuse an answer." She paused as a mallet sitting on a nearby table rose and hit a miniature gong sitting next to it. The little mallet swung itself twice more before dropping back to the table. "Ah that's the upper California entrance." She swept off in the direction of the door. Kevin blinked.

"Upper California entrance?" Flay let out a giggle.

"She's had this place for over two hundred years. She's got quite a reputation for being the best alchemy shop operating on earth." Kevin felt his mouth drop open.

"Two hundred years? She doesn't look anywhere near that old!" Flay simply giggled again.

"She's got Mana blood too." Flay gave a fluid shrug. "Even the tiniest drop of Mana blood can work wonders. Lulubelle has plenty of it, but she didn't become an actual Mana. That particular occurrence is more than slightly unpredictable." Kevin frowned as he heard Lulubelle talking with someone.

"So any Mana lives for centuries or something?" He heard the sound of an old fashioned register, followed shortly thereafter by the door opening. Lulubelle returned as it closed, just in time to catch Kevin's question.

"True Mana do, but it can vary fairly heavily for a human born Mana." She actually smiled. "My mother's a Silwest." Catching Kevin's expression, she added, "She's a wind Mana. It's my father that's human, and it's his side of the family that my cousins come from. Which is very fortunate. I'd hate to see what they were capable of if they had Mana powers in their arsenal." She snorted at the look Kevin gave her. "Most Mana actually look fairly similar to humans." Kevin shook his head.

"Plua doesn't have any feet." Lulubelle blinked before coming up with a response.

"Plua is from one of the oldest Mana races. Her particular race is certainly the oldest among the various strains of Dark Mana." She tapped her chin in thought. "Now that I think about it, there's only one Mana race older than Plua's, and it's one of the only races that's truly one of a kind." She paused. "Mind you, most of them are so well hidden that you wouldn't find one no matter how hard you looked. I only know of one that's near here, and I'm not allowed to give out its location." Kevin shrugged.

"Suits me. It's not like I'm the one who's gonna be looking for em." Lulubelle snorted softly.

"With Benjamin's luck, you'll more than likely run across it regardless of your intentions." Unable to refute this truth, Kevin just shrugged again and made a face. Lulubelle clapped her hands briskly. "Now you said you had some birthday shopping to do?" Kevin nodded and rose. The stool vanished into thin air with a soft popping sound as soon as he was off it. "Take a look around then! I have all sorts of things in here. Be careful though, some stuff is extremely dangerous." Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Am I even gonna be able to pay you?" Lulubelle waved a hand negligently.

"Of course! I take Cole, cash, checks, and all of the major card types." She grinned widely, showing a set of pearly white teeth. "The exchange rate from American money to Cole is incredible." She turned to the hovering Mana. "Flay, it might be best if you helped him dear." The Mana nodded, looking excited. For some reason this sight was one that sent chills down Kevin's spine. He made a mental note to add an excited Flay to his list of things that could scare him. If she noticed his apprehension, Lulubelle didn't comment on it. "Splendid! Have fun then! Let me know if you need any extra help!" She vanished among the shelves.

Kevin winced as Flay grabbed his arm and with surprising strength, proceeded to drag him bodily into the depths of the shop. Lulubelle giggled to herself as she heard Kevin shout, "Oh god! It's gonna be like shopping with Gwen!"

Lulubelle shook her head and said to herself, "It might be better or worse than that, depending on what Flay finds." She knew Kevin wouldn't have been remotely reassured by this.

As it turned out, Flay proved to be more subdued than Gwen about shopping, though Kevin suspected that it was because she didn't really know where to start. Within five minutes she had dragged him deep into the shelves of the store, stopping in front of a display of what appeared to be globes of the Earth, though there were several others he couldn't identify. Flay started looking around wildly, her gaze flicking from shelf to shelf. Kevin took advantage of her distraction and managed to free his arm from the little Mana's grasp.

"Take it easy!" Flay had the grace to look embarrassed. "What is all this stuff?" He picked up a globe and started to twirl it idly. Flay shrugged looking slightly uneasy.

"Most of them are basic tools of the trade for alchemists. Alchemists work with Mana, and their ultimate goal is the betterment of the planet. At least, the good alchemists have that goal." She seemed to have moved from unease to downright fear. "If you spin that much more, it'll go off." Kevin blinked but stopped spinning the globe.

"What are you talking about?" Flay pointed to the globe.

"Those explode if you spin them enough. They aren't really meant for study purposes, they're tools of battle." Kevin put it down in a hurry, flinching when it wobbled in place.

"Why the heck would someone make an exploding globe?" Flay shrugged.

"Explosives are easier to smuggle into guarded places when they look harmless." Upon catching sight of the slightly horrified expression on his face, she sighed. "It's not all dangerous." She turned and plucked what looked like a large teardrop shaped diamond attached to a chain from the shelf. "Take this for instance. It's called a pendulum, and it can tell you if there's treasure nearby." She replaced the pendulum and picked up a cup filled to the brim with some sort of rainbow colored liquid. "This is called Item Wish. Throw it on something and concentrate on an item you need. If you concentrate hard enough, whatever's been doused in it will change into what you need. It even works on your foes, though you'd better hope it works the first time. I doubt they'd take too kindly to getting splashed." She smirked as she put the cup down. Kevin grinned in spite of himself.

"I'll remember that." He picked up a craggy yellow object shaped roughly like an oval. "What's this?" Flay glanced at it.

"It's a special core containing the power of the Metal Mana, Zuvelk. Eating it'll increase your strength permanently. It's not easy to make and the ingredients can be really hard to find though." He put the core down looking equal parts surprised and exasperated.

"There's a Mana for metal?" Flay nodded and giggled at his incredulous tone. "How many kinds of Mana are there?" Flay frowned in thought.

"Around twenty or thirty. I think." She flipped her sleeves back and started counting on her hands, the lantern floating in the air beside her. "Let's see…There's stone, fire, wind, water, time, life, metal, light, dark-" Kevin cut her off.

"I get the picture." Then he blinked. "There's a Life Mana but there isn't one for death?" Flay's expression turned outright dark at this, startling him.

"That's supposed to be part of the job of Aion!" She snapped. In a somewhat calmer tone she said, "Aion is name of the Life Mana." She scowled. "Apparently one alchemist wasn't impressed with how the Aions were doing. He was obsessed with the darker side of alchemy and it showed. He ended up capturing a Mana and transforming it into one that focused chiefly on death and destruction." She grabbed her lantern and shook it hard. A long streamer of light erupted from it and twisted into the air. It widened before images started running across it, flickering rather like an old film reel.

"The Destruction Mana was running rampant." He saw a strange looking shadowy creature with brilliantly red eyes appear in the ribbon. "All the Mana and the alchemists at the time banded together to stop it, many of them losing their lives to it. It wasn't until the Aions confronted it that it finally began to lose ground. A burst of light took the place of the Destruction Mana. "Exactly what the Aions did to the Destruction Mana is something that only they know. All we know is that the Destruction Mana ceased to be a problem." The ribbon vanished as Flay lowered the lantern. She bit her lip, looking both sad and angry. "To actually kill a Mana takes much more than most are capable of. The Destruction Mana could and did do it as if there was nothing simpler." She looked down. "It is because of it that my kind came into existence. There were so many unattached consciences, all of them drifting, unable to move on. So many Mana and humans, lost and wandering, still trying to fight in a battle that they had already lost themselves. It was pure chaos!" Kevin blinked, picking up a large, brilliantly red stone as it began to shine faintly.

"How did you come around then?" The stone grew brighter as he held it. Flay grasped her lantern tighter.

"It was the Aions. They saw the dangers being created; they saw the need underlying everything. They used their power to give life, existence to that need. They made me and mine. Brought us about to help the souls pass on, to give the world balance again." Kevin eyed the stone as the light pulsed faintly.

"How could they stop that destruction thing by themselves when all the rest of you couldn't?" The stone's glow was pulsing faster. Flay gave it a brief glance.

"Life is powerful force. It contains a spark that makes us move on each day, a will to keep going whatever the trials faced. It has the strength to make even the weakest of beings stronger than their greatest foe. It creates the power that lets everyone defy that which seems impossible to overcome. It gives everyone the spark needed to display that defiance. It creates and perpetuates hope." She smiled, her expression seeming as blindingly radiant as the stone he held was becoming. "Against something like that, what chance does a creature basing itself on death, destruction, and despair have?" He had to admit the chances seemed fairly nonexistent, even if Flay was starting sound a little too fanatical to be believed. He shrugged and examined the stone more closely.

"What is this thing anyway?" The stone had by now grown to a brilliant shine and was starting to rise into the air, taking Kevin with it. Flay did a double take as his feet left the ground. She shook her lantern at the stone, which stopped glowing instantly. Kevin dropped the foot or so he had risen and landed heavily. Flay lowered her lantern looking slightly suspicious.

"It's a very special stone. It's constantly producing mana power. It doesn't usually behave that way though. Normally it needs conscious thought to direct it." Kevin frowned, looking thoughtful.

"So it's an energy generator?" Flay raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose you could say that."

"Perfect." He grasped the stone more tightly and headed back towards the door. Flay followed him after a moment of stunned silence.

Finally she spoke. "Do you even care about cost?" Kevin shook his head.

"You talking about cash or that col stuff?" Flay grimaced.

"It's Cole. And the currency type is beside the point!" Kevin shrugged.

"So's the money. I ain't exactly hard up you know. If I was I couldn't fix my car up as much as do. I got paid pretty well back from my tech smuggling days." He scowled "Besides, Ben _is_ my friend. One of the only real ones I have. That's worth a lot to me." Flay went silent as she watched him pick up through a display of various metal blocks, muttering to himself. "Let's see, alloy's are usually good conductors, but this is probably gonna need something unusual." He called over his shoulder, "What's this stone made of anyway?" Flay frowned.

"The ingredients for synthesizing it are gold, aroma material, and a jade tablet." Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Synthesizing it? I meant what's it made of now?" She frowned again before giving the stone a much closer look.

"Erm... I can't make out all the minerals; you'd need a Stone Mana for that. But I can tell that every last one of them conducts like nobody's business." Kevin grinned and plucked a cube of metal off the shelf.

"Good. Let's go." He set off for the front again. Lulubelle intercepted him less than ten feet from her counter, appearing from out of nowhere.

"There you are. I was beginning to wonder if Flay was going to decide on anything." Flay let out a slight laugh.

"He decided for himself. I doubt I would have picked that." She pointed at the stone. Lulubelle raised her eyebrows at the sight of it.

"Unusual gift idea for a guy." Kevin shrugged.

"So I'm unusual." He frowned. "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna give it to him like that. It needs to be reworked a little bit first." Lulubelle's expression remained the same.

"Hence the metal." She sighed slightly and swept the objects up, taking them to the register. She paused as she rung up the stone. "I assume you plan to reshape this?" She sighed slightly at his nod. "I see." She reached under the counter and brought out a small bag that jingled slightly. This was soon followed by an unnervingly large stack of papers. "This bag has the tools you'll need to reshape it. These are the instructions for using them." She looked him straight in the eye as she slid an old fashioned key across the counter space.

"I must warn you. This stone is extremely powerful. If you aren't careful, it could easily level everything within at least two hundreds miles of it. It is constantly producing Mana energy, and the output is nothing to sneeze at." She fixed him with a piercing stare that made him shiver slightly. "If you need help, please _don't_ hesitate to ask for it. This key will link any door to my shop. You needn't worry about the lock type. The key will automatically adapt itself to fit, no matter how old or new the mechanism is." She pushed it across the counter and practically forced it into his fingers.

Feeling distinctly wrong-footed, Kevin allowed the bag and key to be shoved into his hands. He snapped back to reality and pocketed them as the shopkeeper named her price. "An even total? That doesn't sound right." Lulubelle snorted.

"Of course it doesn't. That total was in Cole, which doesn't use cents. She pressed something that caused the price to gain a cent number and drop well over half. "American currency totals tend to be around a third of the price." She frowned. "There's some kind of laundering operation run by Mana over in Belkhyde that takes care of the changeover to Cole. Apparently the actual bills and coins are extremely useful in synthesis. From what I understand they can be substituted for almost any ingredient without affecting much of anything other than the quality." She frowned slightly.

"Mind you, with some of the rarer synthesis recipes quality can make a huge overall difference. Some of them have ingredients that are extremely difficult to come by, and I couldn't justify substituting one when its replacement makes the others useless, so I've never tried it with the rare recipes." She handed him his change and swiftly wrapped both the stone and the metal in some kind of cloth and slipped them into a rather ordinary looking gray bag. Kevin took it and winced as he looked at his watch.

"Oh god! I've been here for two hours!" He grimaced. "Gwen's gonna have my head!" Lulubelle smiled slightly.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you." She laughed at the expression on Kevin's face. "I think Flay could explain it to you." She placed the instructions into the bag and sent him off towards the door with a stern reminder to contact her if he needed help. The door appeared and snapped open as he approached.

Kevin shivered as a strange sensation washed over him. He turned around just in time to see the door shut with a soft click. A strange shimmer enveloped it and the entirety of the shop, making it look oddly flat. "What just happened?" Flay materialized beside him and shrugged slightly.

"One of her protective measures I think. It's supposed to make it more difficult for anyone to accidentally find the shop. It's already got a spell on it that makes it invisible to anyone who doesn't have a pact with a Mana or doesn't know about it." She smiled slightly. "Of course, no matter what she does someone _will_ manage to slip through." Her smile turned into a smirk. "Last year she had an Australian and two Canadians stumble through at Christmastime." She giggled. "I think Lu's always been a little annoyed that most of the people who bumble into her shop come from the remote areas that only have one or two alchemists around. Apparently it makes it a pain to send them back without everyone noticing. Lu always says it's something to do with close knit regions." Kevin raised an eyebrow at her and set off towards the food court at a rather brisk pace. Flay was forced to move into a sort of glide to keep up with him.

"You don't have to rush you know!" Kevin shot her a glare over his shoulder.

"Have you looked at what time it is?" Flay gave out an exasperated sigh.

"No. But you certainly should!" She folded her arms and dodged around a support pillar at the same time without losing pace. "I think you'll be relieved if you do." Kevin shot her an incredulous look and stopped dead, causing Flay to overshoot him by a good ten feet. She floated back to him wearing a distinctly exasperated expression.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Flay's response was to grab his wrist and drag his watch up to eye level. He glanced at it then blinked at looked at it properly. "What the hell?" He shook his head and looked at his watch again. Its time remained the same. "This can't be right! This thing says I was only in there for five minutes." Flay burst out laughing.

"It's correct alright. Lulubelle has some kind of special spell on her shop that she set up with the Time Mana's help. It's for alchemists who had to come in a hurry and left a synthesis in action. Ten minutes is usually the limit before a synthesis goes bad. They tend to explode after that." She smirked slightly. "It never fails to get a good reaction out of people who experience it for the first time. Don't ask me how she manages to avoid paradoxes like people meeting themselves." She sobered as they reached the food court. "I think it'd be best if the majority of the people here continue being unsuspecting of my existence." She waved her lantern and abruptly grew somewhat hazy. "There. If you don't know who and what I am, you can't see or hear me." Kevin raised an eyebrow as he dropped into a seat.

"That sounds pretty vague." Flay shrugged and landed neatly on the table.

"The best spells usually are. Magic tends to work better when you don't fetter it to a single path." She flicked her lantern at the table, making a car magazine appear in a quiet rush of shuffling paper. "Now people won't think you're talking to thin air." She smiled slightly. "With this going they won't notice you unless you actively draw their attention, but it's nice to have a backup." Kevin just shrugged.

"I'll take your word for it." He glanced around. "Can you fix it so they can't hear me too?" She nodded and flicked her lantern at him. He shuddered as a peculiar sensation of coldness washed over him and focused around his mouth before fading. Flay settled herself more comfortably on the table.

"You have questions for me I hope?" She smiled when he nodded. "Good. I'd have been worried if you didn't." She made an expansive gesture. "Ask away." Kevin eyed her before leaning forward.

"Fine. What was with the chapter and verse routine for the Aions? You sounded like a religious prophet or something." Flay frowned.

"First off, most religions generally view Mana as enemies or at the very least unnatural." Kevin blinked.

"But you're like the definition of nature!" Flay outright scowled.

"If you want to try convincing Moses of that, be my guest. You couldn't have done worse than anyone else did." She pressed on before he could respond. "The Life Mana is the oldest race of Mana and therefore the closest in power and form to our originator, the Creation Mana. That makes them the most powerful in terms of what they're capable of, and they have one of the most precious wonders of nature to look after." She sighed slightly.

"Of course, they are a rather proud lot because of it, but they aren't so proud they can't see the forest for the trees. They've always taken their duty to the world seriously, and that's really where most of their pride stems from. Even the Mana Chiefs don't have anything to do with their element. It's all in the hands of the Life Mana. They're one of the few Mana the Highbreed haven't managed to capture, and we'd definitely like to keep it that way. Can you imagine what would happen if we lost the power over life? I think the best we could hope for would be for people to have a complete lack of regard for the safety of their existence. I am afraid the reality is likely to be much worse if that happens though." She shuddered and Kevin couldn't stop himself from doing the same.

"What was that about Moses and a Creation Mana? You haven't actually talked to him have you?" Flay grinned, seeming to forget all about her grim pronouncement.

"Oh him. Well, you know that story about the bush exploding into fire?" He nodded. "It isn't quite true. The poor plant did catch fire, but it wasn't really a sign from his god." She giggled. "It was a Fire Mana that he'd managed to inadvertently irritate. I suppose you could say we accidentally renewed his faith." She frowned when he opened his mouth to ask something. "I'm not saying that the Christian god doesn't exist. The ten commandments Moses returned from the mountains with were not made by any Mana or anyone we have ever associated with. They had a presence around them that was completely foreign to us in every way. The only thing we had a hand in was the bush incident, as it's come to be called among ourselves." She giggled again. "The most contact we had with Moses after that was when we sent a small group to apologize for scaring him and explain what we were." Her smile fell slightly. "He was quite a sour individual once he realized we weren't messengers from the heavens. The man wouldn't listen to a word we said and tried to banish us as if we were common ghosts." She scowled. "He really didn't like me, but that stunt with the Red Sea was the final nail in the coffin. He must have called on the power of his god again, because no human could have done that on their own. The amount of work it created for Nymph and I was ridiculous." Kevin was silent for a moment.

"So do you believe there was, is a god?" Flay raised an eyebrow at him.

"Of course I do. It was not any kind of Mana Power that parted the sea, and it was the same power that forged the Ten Commandments." She frowned. "I may as well tell you. Religions exist because people believe in them. Over time that belief becomes strong enough that it is capable of manifesting in conscious ways. Its how the Greek and Roman gods came about after all. So long as belief is held in them, the gods continue to exist as a conscious reality, and continue to be capable of the miracles and various other feats they perform." She sighed. "Believe me, I know. I've had to guide a few gods back to formlessness. They return to a different existence, but it's the same in general theory. That's why all religions stress belief. Without it their god or gods and goddesses would no longer exist. Belief is a powerful force; it has enabled some miracles that are beyond the power of any Mana, except perhaps the Creation Mana." Kevin eyed her skeptically.

"There's a Mana for creating things? And who the heck is Nymph?" Flay sighed.

"Nymph is the Water Mana. And when I say creation, I really mean existence. Mana are after all, the keepers and perpetuators of natural order, and existence is the very foundation of natural order." She sighed when she saw the blank look on Kevin's face. "Fine. Socio-religious discussion aside, I'll skip the deep stuff." She giggled at the slightly offended glare she received. "The Creation Mana is, was the very first Mana. Without it, the rest of us wouldn't have any power at all." She looked pensive. "The first time it came about it was female. We called her Lillith. When she reincarnated she became known as Iris." She frowned. "The trouble is that the Creation Mana doesn't live like a regular Mana. It has always lived as if it was an exceptionally long-lived person, and has been reincarnated into another form upon its death. Usually it comes back as female, but it has been male before too." She huffed and crossed her arms.

"The real snag is that we never know when or where the Creation Mana will reincarnate, or who or what it will return as for that matter." Her scowl became more pronounced. "We always have to discover its return." She held up a hand when Kevin's mouth opened. "We know it hasn't been captured. When one of our own are caught by the Highbreed's creatures it leaves a void of sorts in the flow of the elements. All Mana are sensitive to it, and not just because the element in question starts to be affected instantly. We'd definitely notice if something happened to the foundation of our powers." She frowned. "It is rather frustrating to not know if it has returned yet or not, but with the Creation Mana, it can't be helped." Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"You sound pretty unconcerned." Flay gave him a look he couldn't decipher.

"I'm one of the first of the Spirit Mana. This isn't the first threat to Mana that I've weathered." She paused, and then added, "Though this is the first one I've seen that's managed to reach a global level of effect so quickly. Of course it's also the first one that's had the source of the threat be off-planet." She gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I suppose it's the nature of the beast, as the mortal saying goes."

"How many times have you guys been threatened?" Flay shrugged.

"That's actually pretty hard to say for sure, seeing as there's no real criteria for deciding. We just tend to remember the big ones."

"The big ones." Flay nodded and glanced at a large clock hanging over one of the vendor stalls.

"You've still got another twenty minutes or so if I overheard correctly, so get yourself something to drink and I'll tell you about what happened when Lillith returned in the form of Iris." Less than three minutes later, she began. "The Creation Mana had been missing from us for decades. There had been a huge war fought over her and once it ended all the alchemists and Mana retreated onto a group of islands and activated what they called the Gardo Continental Drive, a device that completely separated them from Belkhyde. They left behind a special android named Yuveria to guard it. They called their new home Eden and for many centuries they lived in peace, even as Belkhyde trod a path of turmoil. One day parts of the land vanished without a trace. At the same time, a brand new alchemist came across a little girl that called herself Iris."

When Flay's tale came to a close nearly fifteen minutes later, Kevin was sitting there feeling a mixture of shock and amazement. He didn't have a chance to comment on her story however, for Gwen and Julie both materialized out of the crowd laden with bags and both carrying large drinking cups. They proceeded to occupy the table that connected to his and set their bags down, which to Kevin's more than slight horror, seemed to triple in quantity, a number of them sliding towards him. Flay quirked an eyebrow.

"I think Gwendolyn there may have used her powers to help herself along." Kevin simply sat mute as Gwen and Julie carried on their conversation, seeming not to notice them.

"I don't see Kevin anywhere." Gwen shrugged at Julie's statement and took another sip of her drink.

"This is Kevin we're talking about. If he isn't buying something for his car, it can take him hours. And it IS Ben he's shopping for. I'm honestly shocked he hasn't called me for help yet."

"Hey!" Neither of the girls appeared to notice hear him. Julie just took another drink and looked around.

"Don't you think you were a little too subtle for him?" Gwen sighed.

"Maybe a little." Julie raised an eyebrow at her. Gwen coughed. "Alright, way too subtle." She continued, sounding somewhat sour as Julie smirked. "He almost always understands Ben perfectly." Julie's eyebrow remained elevated.

"No offense, but Ben isn't exactly the most subtle of people. He just doesn't operate that way." Kevin grinned in spite of himself. It was true that Ben didn't often go for stealth of any kind. He had once said that his aliens weren't much good at it with the possible exception of Goop and Big Chill, and a flat out assault usually took opponents by surprise anyway. He glanced at Flay.

"Do you mind?" He waved his hand in mimicry of Flay's lantern. "As riveting as this is, I need to take them home before midnight." Flay giggled and nodded before raising the lantern and shaking it slightly. Kevin felt the strange cold sensation wash over him again, this time accompanied by an odd wave of heat. Neither girl appeared to notice.

"Maybe that's why. He seems to understand Ben a lot more than he does me anyway." Julie stared at her for a second.

"Really? What do you mean?" Having heard enough, Kevin cleared his throat loudly. He smirked slightly when both girls shrieked and almost inhaled their straws. Gwen was the first to recover.

"Kevin! When did you get here?" He snorted and gestured to the table where his bag sat. He noticed that there was an odd semicircle completely free of bags with the noticeable exception of his own, which sat in the exact center of table and looked extraordinarily out of place among the brilliant white bags the majority of the mall's clothing shops favored. He strongly suspected the prominence placed on it was Flay's doing.

"We've been waiting for you for almost twenty minutes." Julie, who had been eyeing his bag, glanced at him sharply.

"We?" out of the corner of his eye Kevin say Flay shake her lantern slightly, making it rattle quietly. She must have rendered herself visible to Gwen and Julie, as they both let out a gasp. Julie was the first to recover. "Who are you?" Flay gave a bobbing sort of curtsy.

"Flay. Mana of Spirit at your service." She narrowed her eyes suddenly. "Wasn't there some sort of being attached to your belt earlier?" They all looked at Julie's waist to see that it had indeed changed back to its original form. As if on cue, a loud shriek came from one of the vendor stalls.

As Gwen sprinted towards the woman who was screaming something about possessed ice cream, Kevin found himself growling. "Yamamoto! I thought you were keeping an eye on him!" Julie held up her hands defensively as a flash of pinkish purple light came from behind her.

"I was I swear! He was with me when I sat down!" Another flash of light came, this one hovering and expanding outward.

Recognizing Gwen's standard memory wipe, Kevin said, "Field blanket." Both he and Julie closed their eyes as it reached them. According to Gwen, the field worked via the eyes and closing them rendered it powerless. Or something to that effect. Gwen herself appeared a moment later, Ship in her arms and cooing in his odd echoing way. Wordlessly she held him out to Julie before sitting down with a rather annoyed expression on her face and starting to comb soft serve out of her hair.

"That woman seemed to think Ship and I were practitioners of witchcraft and all around dark magic." She took a large drink of her soda. "Lord I hate the superstitious!" After a minute she calmed down and said to Flay, "Thank you for pointing out he was missing, but how did you know about him?" Flay smirked.

"I've never seen that particular pattern and hue on a belt before. Try something less conspicuous next time." Both girls winced. If Flay saw, she ignored it in favor of moving on to Ship itself. "And you should be more careful you know. What if something managed to catch you?" The mechamorph, which had been staring at her in what Kevin could only describe as unabashed amazement, let out a low hollow whine from his perch in Julie's arms and hung his head. Flay pursed her lips. "It was rather reckless to go off like that. Although…I have to admit that I haven't seen this part of the mall so awake since the fire alarms went off accidentally last year and sprayed everyone with water." She smiled as Ship's head snapped up, eye watching intently. "I suppose it's for the better, even if no one remembers it. This place is much better when the people here actually have some interest." She folded her arms.

"It's better safe than sorry here. You never know who might be watching. Especially here. The walls do practically have ears around here." She turned to Kevin. "Don't forget what Lu said about if you need help. I think I know what you're planning, but it definitely won't be easy. Do you even know the exact size you need?" Kevin nodded.

"After all the time I've spent working on my car it's pretty easy to eyeball sizes." Flay's smile was the first one that seemed truly genuine.

"That all but confirms my guess I think. While the Altena ingot shouldn't give you any trouble, the Ruby Prism is another matter entirely. Trust me on this; it's better to have help from the start with that particular item." She gave a graceful bow in midair. "On that note I shall be taking my leave.' She gave Kevin one last appraising look. "I'll be around if you need me. Just give me a call." She made one last sweeping bow and vanished with a quiet pop and an orb of orange flame. The silence following her departure lasted less than five seconds and Gwen was the one to break it.

"Kevin-" She stopped abruptly, clearly trying to think of how to word her question. "Kevin, just how do you know her?" He shook his head.

"Other way around Gwen." He frowned as he glanced around. "I think you missed a few people with your memory wipe. Couple of em are giving Ship some looks." It was true. Several of the people around them were peering very interestedly at the little mechamorph. Gwen nodded.

She reached out and swept up all of the white bags on the table, leaving Kevin to pick up his own bag. Kevin was positive he saw a flash of Gwen's powers accompany the motion, and knew that Flay had probably been right about Gwen using them to help. Gwen nodded her head at Kevin's bag as they set off. "So what'd you get him?" Kevin grinned.

"A birthday present." To the supreme irritation of the two girls, he didn't elaborate. No amount of pestering on either of their parts would get him to reveal anymore, and they were both rather put out to arrive at their houses without any further information, though Gwen had scanned them with her powers and declared that Ben would probably like it.

"Or he'll at least appreciate it." She said as she closed the door with her foot. Kevin was not completely reassured by this, but nor was he deterred. Once he arrived at his own home he settled himself out in his garage. True to Flay's prediction, the Altena ingot as she called it was the work of minutes to melt and reshape into the various parts he needed. The Ruby Prism, as she called the stone, was another matter entirely. Kevin spent a good twenty minutes reading over the information before emptying the bag of tools out upon the table. He selected what resembled a ball point hammer and after reading over its page again, gave the prism a cautious tap. The stone promptly discharged a bolt of red energy, which scorched a large section of wall space. He stared at the burn mark for a full minute before re-reading the instructions and making another attempt.

This time the energy blast carved a pit underneath one of his tool chests, dropping it a good three feet. When the third attempt netted him a destroyed side mirror, four melted tires, and a slightly singed hand, he gave up. Pulling the key from his pocket with his good hand he stuck it in the door to his kitchen. He gave it a sharp twist and heard a sound like a dozen wind chimes ringing. He swung the door open to find Lulubelle already striding towards him. He wasn't sure whether he should be offended or irritated that she was carrying bandages and a burn cream.

Lulubelle's first act was to clean and bandage his hand. "The Ruby Prism has a rather irritating propensity towards burns." Kevin flexed his fingers experimentally, relieved to find them free of pain.

"And pits." Lulubelle smiled.

"Actually that's a first. Usually it's burns and explosions." Kevin scowled.

"I noticed." Lulubelle smirked.

"Which is why I wanted you to come to me yes?" She didn't wait for a response but instead stepped smartly through the open door into Kevin's garage. She surveyed the damage for a moment before saying, "Honestly it isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I've seen much worse than this." She pulled something from her sleeve and threw it at the scorched wall. There was a small explosion of foam, which quickly cleared away to reveal a clean and unblemished wall.

Another throw refilled the pit, while two more brought Kevin's car back to its former glory. Lulubelle smirked at his dumbfounded expression. "My own personal invention. Perfect for fixing large scale damages." She dusted her hands before picking up the tools. "Now then, you tell me how you need this shaped and we'll go from there." Kevin blinked.

"You sure you want to help?" Lulubelle snorted.

"It's in my best interest after all. I'd rather not lose the better part of this area's business." Kevin laughed and slid a sketch over to her. The shopkeeper looked intrigued as she perused it. "Very interesting."

"Think you can do it?" The dainty woman smiled widely and ignoring Kevin's cringe hefted the hammer before bringing it down on the jewel bright stone with a hefty smack.

She smiled when it didn't so much as spark. "Easily. You set to work on your metal pieces there. I'll handle the volatile work." She set to work with a will, hammering and prodding it into shape. Working on assembling the bits of metal, Kevin couldn't restrain his laughter five minutes later when he heard the distinct zap of an energy discharge followed by Lulubelle's mutter of, "Damn temperamental stone." He was forced to dodge the empty plastic bottle thrown at him in response.

AN: Um...HI? :Dodges barrage of flying vegetables.: Sorry to leave this for so long. First off, Thanks go out to Cherryboy and Sevenletterword for making reveiws that actually motivated me to get this posted and finished. I honestly didn't realize it had been that long since I had updated, nor did I intend for it to be that long. When I pass a mark like that, I appreciate people telling me.

Ahem: Backstory chapter really, and the Introduction of Lulubelle, one of the most unusual of all the OC's I've ever created. She'll be around a lot for those of you that like her. And The items...The globe is unique in that it's a powerful explosive in the Atelier Iris games. (And I mean powerful.) Item wish is another oddity The Zuvelk core was introduced in Atelier Iris two, as was the Altena Ingot, and the Ruby Prism has been a game staple throughout the series. Flay however, is from Atelier Iris one. (Yes, she does exist.) As is Plua. Plua reappears often, but Flay is only in Iris One to the best of my knowledge. (And yes, there really are somewhere around that many Mana types. There's even one for smells!)

See you next chapter! (And may it never take this long again!)~Magicia P.S. I'll be posting this story on my Deviant Art account later tonight. I have the same username as I do here, Magicia. to easily find my stuff, type by:magicia into the DA search bar.

Just click that button and send me a review. Flame if you must, but keep it constructive. Pointless flames shall heat my cauldron of ideas.


End file.
